H  I  S  T  O  E  T 


EIGHTY-SIXTH  REGIMENT 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY, 


DURING    ITS    TERM    OF   SERVICE. 


BY    J.    R.    KINNEAR 
O 

Cruger,  Woodfoid  County,  Illinois. 


CHICAGO: 

TRIBUNE  COMPANY'S  BOOK  AND  JOB  FEINTING  OFFICE. 
1866. 


E505 


TO    THE 


COMMISSIONED  OFFICERS  AND  ENLISTED  MEN 

OF  THK 

EIGHTY-SIXTH  KEGIMENT 

ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY. 

This   volume  is  respectfully  dedicated,   ly 

THE    AUTHOR. 


M171736 


PKEFACE. 


THE  history  of  the  Eighty-sixth  Illinois  was  written 
in  part  while  the  regiment  was  yet  in  the  service, 
merely  for  the  gratification  of  a  personal  desire ;  but 
since  its  muster  out,  the  author  has  been  frequently 
urged  by  many  of  his  friends  to  have  it  published, 
that  they  might  share  what  he  alone  enjoyed.  He 
complied  with  an  earnest  request  from  Colonel  Fahne- 
stock  to  meet  himself,  General  Magee,  Major  Thomas, 
Dr.  Guth,  Captain  Zinser  and  others  at  Peoria,  to  have 
the  manuscript  examined  before  publication.  It  was 
met  by  their  hearty  approval,  and  an  eager  desire  on 
their  part  to  have  it  published ;  at  the  same  time  giv 
ing  the  assurance  that  they  would  lend  their  whole 
influence  in  getting  it  before  the  public.  For  these 
reasons  the  author  has  been  induced  to  present  this 
little  volume  to  his  comrades  and  friends,  in  the  hope 
that  it  will  receive  their  hearty  welcome. 

The  history  of  the  Eighty -sixth  is  also  the  history 


VI  PREFACE. 

of  the  85th,  125th  and  110th  Illinois,  together  with 
the  52nd  Ohio  and  22nd  Indiana,  all  of  the  same 
brigade.  Particular  mention  has  been  made  of  these 
regiments,  for  they  were  to  the  Eighty-sixth  a  band  of 
faithful  brothers. 

The  author  acknowledges  himself  indebted  to 
Colonel  Fahnestock,  Major  Thomas,  Captain  Major, 
and  Acting  Adjutant  Loveland,  for  the  kind  assist 
ance  and  encouragement  they  have  given  him  in 
preparing  this  history  for  publication,  and  to  them  he 
attributes  the  merit  of  this  work,  if  it  possesses  merit. 

THE   AUTHOR. 


CO^TE^TS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ORGANIZATION  AND  MARCH  TO  NASHVILLE — ABOUT  NASH 
VILLE  9 j  g 

CHAPTER  II. 

MARCH    TO    CHATTANOOGA  —  THE    BATTLE    OF    CHICKA- 

MAUGA -J^Q Og 

CHAPTER  III. 
MISSION  RIDGE  AND  KNOXVILLE 29 36 

CHAPTER  IV. 
ABOUT   CHATTANOOGA 37 i6 

CHAPTER  V. 
CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  ATLANTA.  ....    .  .47 71 

CHAPTER  VI. 
To  THE  REAR 72—78 

CHAPTER  VII. 
TO  THE  SEA 79 QJ 


Till  CONTENTS, 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

RAID  THROUGH  SOUTH    CAROLINA  —  BATTLES   OF    AVERYS- 

BORO  AND  BEXTONVILLE 92 — 108 

CHAPTER  IX. 
CAPTURE  OF  JOHNSTON'S  ARMY ] 09 — 114 

CHAPTER  X. 
HOMEWARD  BOUND ...  1 15 — 125 

REGIMENTAL  ROSTER 126 — 128 

CAPT.A  IN  BURKHALTER' s  ADVENTURE .129,   1  SO 

SOLDIERS'  LETTERS 131,   132 

BATTLE 1 33,   1 34 

FARMING  IN  THE  SOUTH 135—137 

REBEL  LETTER 138,   139 


HISTORY 


CHAPTER   I. 

ORGANIZATION,  AND  MARCH  TO  NASHVILLE  —  ABOUT 
NASHVILLE. 

THE  Eighty-sixth  Eegiment  of  Illinois  Volunteer 
Infantry  was  organized  at  Peoria  in  the  latter  part  of 
August,  1862.  David  D.  Irons  was  made  Colonel; 
David  W.  Magee,  Lieutenant -Colonel ;  J.  S.  Bean, 
Major,  and  J.  E.  Prescott,  Adjutant, 

On  the  26th  of  August  the  captains  of  the  several 
companies  drew  lots  for  the  letters  of  their  companies, 
and  on  the  next  day  the  regiment  was  mustered  into 
the  United  States  service  for  the  period  of  three  years 
or  during  the  war.  On  the  29th  of  the  same  month 
it  received  one  month's  pay,  amounting  to  thirteen 
dollars.  Nothing  more  of  importance  occurred  until 
the  6th  of  September,  when  the  regiment  drew  its 
guns  and  its  first  suit  of  army  blue.  While  at  Peoria 
the  Eighty-sixth  was  rendezvoused  at  Camp  Lyon,  a 
name  given  it  by  Colonel  Irons.  Time  passed  slowly, 
for  all  were  anxious  to  move  to  the  seat  of  war,  and 
were  not  at  rest  till  they  did.  Finally,  orders  came, 
and  on  the  7th  of  September  the  regiment  boarded 
the  cars  for  Louisville. 

Every  member  of  the  Eighty-sixth  left  Peoria  with 
mingled  feelings  of  pleasure  and  pain  —  pleasure,  that 

u 


:10;  •  HISTORY  'OF'  THE  EIGHTY-SIXTH 

they  were  about  to  participate  in  the  great  struggle 
for  Union  and  Liberty  —  pain,  that  they  were  called 
upon  to  part  with  their  nearest  and  dearest  friends. 
It  was  on  Sunday  morning ;  beautiful  and  bright  the 
sun  shone  upon  its  bristling  armor  as  the  regiment 
marched  through  the  city  with  measured  tread,  bound 
for  the  "  land  of  Dixie."  The  streets  and  balconies 
were  filled  with  anxious  friends,  and  fair  hands  waved 
us  an  affectionate  adieu  —  hands  which  were  not  only 
true  to  us  in  our  pride  and  strength,  but  also  in  the 
darkest  hour  of  our  trials  and  suffering.  In  long 
days  after  this,  when  men  turned  copperheads  by 
scores,  these  same  fair  ones  proved  true.  "  God  bless 
the /cm-/"  The  regiment  arrived  in  Jefferson ville, 
opposite  Louisville,  on  the  morning  of  the  9th,  going 
into  camp  at  Jo.  Holt,  on  the  Ohio  river,  across  from 
the  city  of  Louisville.  At  this  camp  the  regiment 
first  began  to  soldier,  taking  its  first  lessons  in  lying 
out  in  the  open  air.  While  at  Jo.  Holt  it  was  drill, 
drill,  almost  constantly — the  boys  were  not  able  to  do 
enough  drilling ;  but  for  all  that,  this  camp  became 
dear  to  us  ;  especially  in  after  times  when  water  was 
scarce,  memory  would  revert  to  the  cool  crystal  waters 
of  Jo.  Holt. 

After  getting  a  partial  outfit  for  campaigning,  the 
regiment  quit  the  Indiana  side  of  the  river,  and 
crossed  over  to  Louisville  on  the  14th.  It  again  took 
up  camp  two  miles  south  of  the  city  in  a  very  un 
pleasant  situation,  now  remaining  about  Louisville 
until  the  1st  of  October. 

At  one  time,  our  brigade,  which  was  formed  on  the 
15th  of  September,  and  afterwards  known  as  the  36th 
brigade  of  General  Sheridan's  division  of  Gilbert's 
corps,  was  marched  through  Louisville  on  grand 
review.  This  march  was  a  severe  one.  The  day  was 
intensely  hot  and  the  roads  dusty ;  then,  the  narrow 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  11 

streets  made  it  doubly  suffocating.  Many  fell  pow 
erless  and  died,  and  others  received  injuries  for  life. 
That  day  will  long  be  remembered  by  those  who  were 
participators  in  its  toils.  The  85th  and  125th  Illinois, 
together  with  the  52nd  Ohio  regiment,  were  in  the 
same  brigade  with  the  Eighty-sixth,  and  remained 
with  it  until  all  were  discharged  from  the  service  at 
Washington  City.  The  history  of  the  Eighty-sixth 
Illinois  is  their  history,  and  they  were  to  each  other 
as  a  band  of  brothers.  Colonel  Dan.  McCook,  of  the 
52nd  Ohio,  was  placed  in  command  of  this  newly 
formed  brigade. 

Soon  after  the  formation  of  our  brigade  it  made 
two  other  marches  over  the  dusty  roads  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Bardstown,  nearly  as  severe  as  the  first  one. 
They  were  doubtless  unnecessary,  and  for  that  reason 
harder  to  perform,  amounting  to  nothing,  only  out  in 
the  country  ten  or  twelve  miles  and  back  again  — 
training,  no  doubt.  After  these  marches,  the  com 
mand  was  put  in  the  rifle-pits  that  encircled  the  city 
of  Louisville,  for  the  Confederate  army  under  General 
Bragg  was  near  at  hand  menacing  it.  There  was 
great  excitement  about  this  time,  as  we  were  unac 
customed  to  the  work,  and  it  went  odd.  While 
remaining  at  Louisville,  the  Eighty-sixth  went  on 
picket  for  the  first  time.  Its  acts  and  thoughts  on 
this  occasion  were  certainly  novel,  and  furnished  a 
fund  of  great  amusement  in  its  after  career.  The 
regiment  was  just  beginning  to  experience  many  of 
the  roughs  and  cuffs  incidental  to  the  opening  scenes 
of  soldier  life.  Diarrhea  became  a  plague  to  many, 
and  a  change  of  diet  a  source  of  discomfort  to  others, 
which,  upon  the  whole,  caused  us  to  lead  a  rather 
gloomy  life  at  first;  then  we  were  ignorant  of  the 
many  advantages  an  old  soldier  has  acquired  by  long 
experience,  which  advantages  greatly  modify  the 
hardships  and  discomforts  of  out-door  life. 


12  HISTORY  OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

While  the  regiment  lay  at  Louisville,  a  large  army 
was  being  brought  together  in  order  to  oppose  the 
encroachments  of  the  enemy  under  Bragg,  which  had 
advanced  as  far  as  Bardstown.  The  forces  on  our 
part  were  commanded  by  Major-General  Buell,  a  man 
of  questionable  loyalty /as  future  events  determined. 

Finding  that  the  enemy  were  not  going  to  attack 
him,  Gen.  Buell  issued  orders  for  the  advance  of  his 
whole  command  on  the  1st  day  of  October.  Accord 
ingly,  the  line  of  march  was  taken  up  at  the  time 
specified  in  the  order,  the  36th  brigade  being  among 
the  troops  that  went.  As  Buell's  army  advanced,  the 
enemy  retreated,  taking  with  him  large  supplies  from 
the  country.  Our  forces  followed  rapidly  for  seven 
days,  when  Gen.  McCook's  command  overtook  a  por 
tion  of  Bragg's  army  at  Chaplin  Hills  or  Perryville. 
Here,  on  the  next  day,  the  8th  of  October,  was 
fought  the  desperate  battle  of  Perryville. 

The  36th  brigade  was  on  the  left  of  the  division 
and  had  moved  forward  early  in  the  morning,  accom 
panied  by  Barnett's  2nd  Illinois  battery,  and  occupied 
its  position.  The  85th  Illinois,  Colonel  Moore,  was 
deployed  upon  the  right,  and  the  52nd  Ohio  on  the 
left.  The  125th  Illinois,  Colonel  Harmon,  was  held 
as  a  reserve,  and  the  86th  Illinois  was  on  the  picket 
line.  At  an  early  hour  the  rebel  skirmishers  opened 
a  sharp  fire  on  the  86th,  and  although  this  was  the 
first  fight  in  which  it  was  ever  engaged,  it  advanced 
steadily  upon  them  and  drove  them  back  in  confusion 
with  severe  loss.  Irritated  at  the  loss  of  their  posi 
tion,  the  rebels  massed  upon  the  right  and  left,  and 
commenced  a  furious  fire  from  their  batteries  upon  the 
brigade. 

The  firing  continued  for  an  hour,  but  the  brigade 
resolutely  held  its  ground.  About  this  time  Barnett's 
battery  took  position  and  silenced  their  guns.  In  the 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  13 

meantime,  the  125th.  Illinois  came  to  the  support  of 
the  battery,  and  did  its  work  splendidly,  and  the  reb 
els  retired,  leaving  the  brigade  in  possession  of  the 
ground  it  had  won. 

A  cavalry  force  now  advanced  in  the  direction  the 
rebels  were  retreating,  and  were  soon  furiously  at 
tacked.  The  situation  became  critical.  The  cavalry 
was  hard  pressed,  but  with  the  assistance  of  the  2nd 
Missouri  regiment,  together  with  the  2nd  Michigan 
and  15th  Missouri,  the  enemy  was  completely  routed 
at  this  point,  making  no  other  effort  until  3  o'clock 
p.  M.,  when  General  Bragg,  in  person,  led  his  host 
against  this  position.  After  the  most  desperate  fight 
ing  this  last  effort  proved  abortive. 

From  the  commencement  of  this  battle  it  grew 
fiercer  and  fiercer  as  the  day  advanced,  and  the  sun  of 
that  day  went  down  in  blood.  This  was  the  first  con 
test  in  which  the  36th  brigade  was  called  upon  to  take 
a  part,  and  though  it  was  not  as  active  as  many  others, 
it  did  promptly  all  that  was  required.  Colonel 
McCook  paid  it  high  compliment  for  the  soldierly 
manner  in  which  it  did  its  duty.  The  loss  of  the 
Eighty-sixth  in  this  engagement  was  one  killed  and 
thirteen  wounded.  The  battle  of  Perryville  was 
evenly  contested  by  the  opposing  forces,  neither  side 
having  gained  material  advantage,  though  if  there 
was  a  balance  due  either  party,  it  was  in  favor  of  the 
Federals. 

On  the  morning  after  the  battle  our  brigade  moved 
forward  to  the  main  portion  of  the  battle-field,  the 
enemy  having  retreated  under  cover  of  night,  leaving 
his  dead  and  wounded  on  the  field.  The  brigade 
remained  in  its  last  position  three  days,  when  on  the 
morning  of  the  12th  the  army  took  up  the  line  of 
pursuit,  passing  through  Danville  and  Lancaster,  and 
arriving  at  Crab  Orchard  on  the  16th.  The  pursuit 


14  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

was  now  no  longer  continued,  the  enemy  being 
allowed  to  make  good  his  escape  with  all  his  forage 
and  plunder. 

Nashville  now  became  Gen.  Bragg's  objective  point, 
making  it  a  race  to  see  which  army  could  reach  it 
first.  Accordingly,  on  the  20th  of  October  the  line 
of  march  was  taken  up  for  Nashville,  the  36th  brig 
ade  passing  back  through  Lancaster  and  Danville, 
thence  following  the  main  road  leading  to  Bowling 
Green.  It  remained  a  few  days  near  Mammoth 
Cave,  in  order  to  recruit  its  strength,  being  sorely 
fatigued.  Many  of  the  Eighty-sixth  took  this 'oppor 
tunity  to  see  that  great  natural  wonder.  On  the 
31st  of  the  month  we  arrived  in  Bowling  Green, 
where  the  brigade  remained  a  few  days  to  recruit 
and  draw  clothing,  preparatory  to  its  further  march. 
Leaving  this  place,  it  followed  the  main  road  to  Nash 
ville,  where  it  arrived  on  the  7th  of  November. 

The  timely  arrival  of  our  army  in  Nashville  relieved 
the  anxious  little  garrison  from  further  apprehensions 
of  danger,  and  after  so  long  a  time  the  city  was  once 
more  opened  to  communication.  Here  ended  the 
arduous  campaign  against  the  forces  of  Gen.  Bragjg,  the 
army  being  permitted  to  go  into  winter-quarters  in  and 
about  Nashville. 

The  campaign  just  ended  was  one  that  tried  the 
bone  and  muscle  of  the  new  levy  of  troops  that  had 
just  entered  the  field.  Water  was  very  scarce,  it  be 
ing  impossible  to  procure  a  sufficient  quantity  for  our 
real  good,  and  even  that  was  of  the  most  inferior 
kind ;  it  was,  in  fact,  unfit  for  a  beast,  and  enough  to 
sicken  and  kill  a  human.  Our  mode  of  cooking  and 
eating  then  seems  now  to  be  ridiculous  indeed  ;  it  was 
every  man  for  himself,  boiling  his  coffee  in  a  pint  tin 
and  roasting  his  meat  on  a  stick.  Being  barbarously 
ignorant  of  the  profession  of  a  soldier,  we  would 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  15 

cany  unnecessary  loads  which  we  were  afterwards 
taught  to  discard ;  and  undergoing  toilsome  marches 
over  a  rough  and  desolate  country,  under  the  scorch 
ing  rays  of  a  Southern  sun,  with  not  enough  water  to 
wash  down  the  dust  we  were  compelled  to  breathe. 
The  men  would  readily  push  away  the  thick  green 
scurn  from  every  stagnant  pool  and  drink  with  a 
relish.  Lazy  swine  were  forced  to  leave  their  muddy 
beds  to  give  place  to  the  cup  of  the  thirst}7  soldier. 
The  Eighty-sixth  Regiment  in  after  times  was  wont 
to  look  back  on  this  campaign  —  its  first  lesson  in 
soldiering  —  with  more  commiseration  and  regret  than 
any  period  of  its  subsequent  career.  It  consumed 
thirty-eight  days  of  the  severest  toils  and  privations, 
than  which  no  other  has  surpassed,  making  a  distance 
of  over  three  hundred  miles  in  pursuit  of  an  exultant 
and  defiant  enemy. 

The  regiment  now  remained  in  Edgefield  from  the 
7th  of  November  until  the  23rd,  when  it  was  marched 
to  Mill  Creek  and  took  up  encampment  at  a  place 
known  as  Camp  Sheridan.  At  this  camp,  on  the  4th 
of  December,  at  12  o'clock  M.,  the  regiment  having 
just  returned  from  drill,  was  ordered  to  fall  in  and 
advance  upon  a  force  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  which 
was  maneuvering  in  the  vicinity  of  the  camp. 

Company  A  and  B  were  immediately  thrown  out  as 
skirmishers ;  the  remainder  of  the  regiment  kept  back 
in  reserve.  The  rebels  were  soon  dispersed,  and  the 
regiment  returned  at  night  on  the  double-quick.  On 
the  9th  of  December  the  command  was  marched  to 
Nashville,  taking  up  camp  there,  and  put  on  duty 
about  the  city.  About  this  time  was  led  a  sad  and 
disagreeable  life,  even  more  so  than  at  any  other  time. 
The  boys  were  new  in  their  profession  and  entirely 
ignorant  as  to  what  conveniences  a  soldier  might  have 
even  under  circumstances  so  trying,  and  in  conse- 


16  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

quence,  were  compelled  to  render  themselves  most 
unhappy.  Some  twenty  odd  men  would  live  in  the 
same  tent,  cook  from  a  camp  kettle  swung  in  the  mid 
dle  of  it,  make  their  beds  on  the  clamp  ground,  fre 
quently  without  even  straw  or  boards  under  them. 
Snow  fell,  and  the  cold,  keen  winds  of  winter 
whistled  without,  while  the  poor  soldiers  lay  cold  and 
damp  within. 

Many  were  taken  ill  and  died  from  this  exposure ; 
more  died  and  were  discharged  during  this  winter  than 
in  all  our  previous  and  after  term  of  service.  The 
hospitals  were  yet  without  proper  organization,  the 
sick  in  them  improperly  cared  for,  for  war  was  as  yet 
a  new  thing,  poorly  understood  and  carried  on.  The 
Icelander,  in  his  frigid  and  icy  home  of  the  far  north, 
in  his  primeval  ignorance,  could  not  have  lived  in 
greater  exposure  than  did  the  soldiers  at  this  time. 
The  regiment  was  called  upon  to  do  a  great  deal  of 
duty,  such  as  picketing  about  the  city — a  business  that 
is  anything  but  pleasant  where  there  are  a  number  of 
generals  and  other  fancy  officers  to  be  looked  after. 
While  on  duty  at  this  place  the  battles  of  Stone  Kiver 
were  fought.  There  was  an  exciting  time  in  Nash 
ville  during  this  eventful  period ;  everything  was  hurry 
and  bustle.  The  wounded  and  skulkers  came  back 
in  great  numbers,  each  bearing  his  own  report. 

During  these  battles  the  troops  in  and  about  the 
city  had  to  be  in  line  of  battle  at  3  o'clock  in  the 
morning ;  it  mattered  not  what  was  the  condition  of 
the  elements,  it  was  all  the  same  thing ;  and  cer 
tainly,  if  anything  would  provoke  a  soldier  to  feelings 
of  wrath,  this  kind  of  business  would.  The  iirst  one 
is  to  be  heard  from  who  ever  got  used  to  it. 

On  the  25th  of  March,  1863,  the  Eighty-sixth  was 
marched  to  Brentwood,  where  only  a  few  hours  before 
the  garrison  there  was  surprised  and  captured.  On 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  17 

the  first  alarm  the  regiment  was  sent  to  its  assistance, 
but  it  reached  the  fatal  spot  too  late,  the  rebels  having 
succeeded  in  their  enterprise  and  made  good  their 
escape.  After  this  reconnoisance  to  Brentwood,  the 
regiment  returned  to  Nashville,  settling  down  again 
to  its  old  business  of  picketing  and  guarding.  Nearly 
two  weeks  after  this,  on  the  8th  of  April,  the  brigade 
was  sent  to  Brentwood,  in  supporting  distance  of 
Franklin.  Brentwood  was  a  fine  situation  for  a  camp, 
and  as  spring  was  at  hand  it  was  rendered  more  pleas 
ant  still.  Comfortable  quarters  were  readily  made, 
and  for  the  first  time  we  began  to  live  like  men.  It 
was  here  the  boys  began  a  happy  reform  in  that 
respect ;  for  instead  of  lying  on  the  bare  ground  in 
the  dirt  and  grass,  they  put  up  bunks,  thus  leading  to 
their  comfort.  At  this  place  the  brigade  built  a  fort 
called  Fort  Brentwood.  It  was  triangular  in  form, 
having  embrazures  in  the  corners  of  the  triangle  for 
guns.  Much  time  and  labor  was  expended  on  this 
work,  only  to  be  completed  that  it  might  be  demol 
ished  —  a  change  in  the  situation  of  our  army  affairs 
compelling  the  evacuation  of  the  fort.  Details  were 
made,  and  on  the  3rd  of  June  the  work  of  demoli 
tion  was  consummated,  and  on  the  evening  of  the 
same  day  the  brigade  returned  to  Nashville. 

The  Eighty-sixth  Eegiment  now  remained  in  Nash 
ville  until  the  first  of  July,  when  it,  with  the  rest  of 
the  brigade,  was  marched  to  Murfreesboro.  At  this 
encampment  the  command  spent  much  time  and  labor 
on  its  camp  grounds,  but  did  not  remain  to  reap  the 
fruits  thereof,  for  in  a  few  days  it  returned  to  Nash 
ville,  where  it  remained  until  the  20th  of  August, 
1863. 

About  this  time  occurred  a  sad  epoch  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  Eighty-sixth  Regiment  —  the  death  of 
Colonel  Irons.  -After  a  severe  illness  he  departed 


18  HISTORY   OF   THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

I 

• 

this  life  on  the  llth  day  of  August,  leaving  behind 
him  a  band  of  faithful  friends  to  mourn  his  loss. 
Colonel  Irons  had  the  qualifications  of  a  good  man — 
a  brave  and  faithful  heart.  On  the  day  after  his 
death  the  brigade  escorted  his  last  remains  to  the 
depot,  where  they  were  put  on  the  cars  and  taken  to 
Peoria  for  burial. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  Colonel  Irons,  Chaplain  Gr. 
TV.  Brown  offered  his  resignation,  which  was  accepted 
on  the  13th  of  October  succeeding.  Chaplain  Brown 
gave  his  whole  heart  to  the  fulfillment  of  the  duties 
incumbent  on  his  office,  by  attending  the  sick  and 
suffering  of  his  regiment  with  a  spirit  and  energy 
scarcely  ever  surpassed.  He  was  indefatigable  in  his 
efforts  to  promote  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  his 
boys,  and  could  always  give  inquiring  friends  from 
abroad  the  exact  place  and  condition  of  the  sick  and 
suffering  of  the  regiment. 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY,  19 


OHAPTEB  II. 

MARCH  TO  CHATTANOOGA — BATTLE  OF  CHICKAMAUGA. 

On  the  20th  of  August,  1863,  Colonel  Dan. 
McCook's  brigade,  belonging  to  Steedman's  division 
of  Granger's  reserves,  marched  from  Nashville  in  a 
southerly  direction.  The  design  of  this  move  was  to 
repair  the  Nashville  and  Decatur  railroad.  On  its 
route  the  brigade  stopped  a  short  time  at  Brentwood, 
where  it  had  been  encamped  some  two  months  pre 
vious.  Summer  had  made  a  vast  change  in  this  place. 
Fruits  were  ripe,  and  we  partook  freely,  on  the  score 
of  old  acquaintance. 

From  Brentwood  the  brigade  continued  the  march 
to  Franklin,  where  it  also  remained  a  short  time  in 
order  to  complete  the  necessary  arrangements  to  repair 
the  railroad.  Franklin  is  an  old  fashioned  Southern 
town,  arid  a  place  of  much  historic  interest  on  account 
of  the  tragic  scenes  that  have  transpired  there.  Vari 
ous  battles  have  been  fought  there,  and  two  notorious 
spies  were  hung.  One  regiment  of  the  brigade  was 
left  at  that  place,  and  the  rest  strung  along  the  road 
further  down.  The  Eighty-sixth  was  stationed  at 
West  Harpeth,  where  it  began  getting  out  timber  with 
which  to  repair  a  bridge.  Details  were  at  work  every 
day  chopping  and  hewing,  but  it  was  not  long  till  it 
received  orders  to  discontinue  the  work  and  prepare 
for  a  march.  W est  Harpeth  is  situated  some  eight  miles 
south  from  Franklin  in  a  fine  portion  of  the  country. 
The  regiment  was  there  in  the  fruit  season  of  the 
year,  enjoying  soldier  life  in  the  first  degree,  for  plenty 


20  HISTORY   OF   THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

sat  smiling  on  every  hand.  And  here  it  celebrated  its 
first  anniversary,  Mr.  Millsaps,  who  was  afterwards  its 
Chaplain,  delivering  an  address  suitable  to  the 
occasion. 

From  West  Harpeth  the  Eighty-sixth  took  up  the 
line  of  march  for  Columbia.  On  its  route  it  passed 
through  Spring  Hill,  a  very  noted  place.  It  was  here 
that  Gen.  Van  Dorn,  of  the  Confederate  army,  was 
shot  for  a  gross  insult  extended  to  the  wife  of  a'prom- 
inent  doctor. 

On  the  evening  of  the  28th  of  August  the  regiment 
reached  Columbia,  Tenn,  where  it  joined  the  brigade 
which  had  arrived  there  a  short  time  previous,  taking 
up  quarters  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town  until  the 
30th,  when  it  was  taken  into  it  as  a  garrison.  The 
remainder  of  the  brigade  continued  the  march  in  the 
direction  of  Huntsville,  leaving  the  Eighty-sixth  with 
orders  to  follow  up  as  soon  as  relieved  by  a  command 
of  mounted  infantry  on  its  road  from  Kentucky. 
Columbia  was  a  handsome  place  and  of  much  inter 
est.  James  K.  Polk  had  lived  there,  and  Gen.  Pil 
low's  plantation  was  not  far  distant  from  it.  It  had 
also  several  fine  literary  institutions,  one  of  which 
continued  in  operation  while  the  regiment  was  stay 
ing  there.  It  was  at  Columbia  Colonel  Magee  pro 
cured  the  famous  whistle  that  ever  afterwards 
remained  with  the  regiment.  By  the  mandates  of 
this  little  instrument,  in"  the  hands  of  its  successive 
commanders,  the  actions  of  the  Eighty-sixth  were 
controlled.  It  would  advance,  halt,  retreat,  lie  down 
and  get  up,  as  designated  by  this  tiny  whistle.  Other 
regiments  have  prided  themselves  in  their  eagles  and 
pets,  and  the  Eighty-sixth  too,  had  long  since  con 
cluded  she  "paid  too  dear  for  the  whistle,"  not  to 
cherish  it  in  lasting  remembrance.  In  years  hence, 
when  all  things  else  will  seem  to  have  passed  away, 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  21 

memory  will  not  prove  recreant  to  the  faithful  friend 
of  all — the  tiny  whistle. 

The  regimental  officers  held  an  election  here,  and 
voted  Captain  A.  L.  Fahnestock  Major  of  the  regi 
ment,  though  it  was  a  long  time  after  this  before  he 
was  commissioned.  The  desired  relief  came  on  the 
3rd  of  September,  and  the  86th  took  up  the  march  on 
the  4th,  following  up  the  brigade,  which  by  this  time 
had  reached  Huntsville.  The  28th  Kentucky 
mounted  infantry  relieved  us. 

The  weather  was  warm  and  the  command  marched 
slowly,  feeling  its  way  as  it  went.  Colonel  Magee 
did  a  good  part  by  his  men,  always  keeping  their 
good  and  comfort  in  view ;  he  would  not  compel  them 
to  overmarch  themselves  for  personal  gratification  or 
that  of  his  superiors,  though  always  prompt  in  the 
execution  of  orders. 

The  regiment  was  now  alone,  surrounded  by  all 
manner  of  enemies.  The  brigade,  on  its  passage 
down,  was  fired  upon  from  houses  in  the  little  village 
of  Lynnville,  it  now  becoming  a  question  whether  a 
single  regiment  could  make  the  passage  at  all.  For 
the  purpose  of  warding  off  all  danger,  the  regiment 
observed  the  following  order  of  march :  One  com 
pany  two  hundred  yards  in  advance  of  the  main  col 
umn,  and  two  companies  in  rear  of  the  regimental 
train.  It  passed  through  Lynnville,  the  scene  of 
former  disturbances,  without  molestation,  and  camped 
near  it. 

Col.  McCook  had  issued  an  order  to  the  citizens,  de 
claring  that  for  every  life  taken  by  concealed  enemies 
he  would  retaliate  on  the  country.  This  order  had 
a  good  effect,  for  afterwards  a  citizen  would  not  har 
bor  a  guerrilla  or  bushwhacker. 

The  members  of  the  Eighty-sixth  will  not  forget 
how  they  transcended  the  liberties  of  the  Colonel, 


22  HISTORY   OF   THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

while  camped  at  Lynnville,  by  killing  hogs  in  camp, 
and  raising  "Ned"  generally  —  the  lecture  they 
received  in  consequence  will  not  be  forgotten.  He 
admonished  them  never  to  permit  a  rebel  hog  to  be  too 
insinuating  without  the  proper  chastisement,  and  at 
the  same  time  not  to  be  too  noisy  and  reckless,  thus 
exposing  him  to  the  reprimand  of  his  superiors. 

The  next  place  of  encampment  was  at  Pulaski,  a 
small  town  that  lay  almost  in  ruins  from  some  cause 
or  other.  A  novel  incident  occurred  here  respecting 
a  couple  of  doctors.  The  first  one- tried  to  elude  the 
advance  guard  by  riding  off  in  break-neck  style,  but 
he  was  apprehended,  brought  before  Colonel  Magee, 
and  examined.  He  declared  his  object  to  be  to  save 
his  favorite  pony  and  nothing  more ;  he  was  of  course 
released,  but  on  further  suspicion  of  being  a  spy,  was 
searched  for,  but  could  not  be  found.  The  other  doc 
tor  came  into  camp  of  his  own  accord,  and  going  to 
the  surgeon's  tent,  asked  for  a  dose  of  morphine  ; 
whereupon,  seeing  a  good  opportunity,  he  stole  the 
whole  bottle,  and  putting  it  in  his  hat  walked  off.  He 
was  detected,  arrested,  and  taken  before  the  Colonel. 
He  plead  insanity  and  such  like  things  to  no  purpose, 
but  was  tied  up  to  a  tree  and  made  to  suffer  punishment. 
No  one  can  rightly  determine  the  object  of  these  two- 
men  ;  they  were  doubtless  enlisted  sons  of  the  South 
ern  chivalry  intent  upon  mischief. 

The  march  was  continued  the  next  day  from  Pulaski, 
crossing  Elk  river  at  a  place  known  as  Elktown,  the 
boys  dismantling  themselves  and  wading,  as  the 
bridge  had  been  destroyed.  Four  miles  beyond  this 
stream  is  the  State  line,  the  regiment  marching  there 
and  camping  for  the  night  near  a  beautiful  brook  of 
water. 

On  the  7th  of  September,  it  crossed  the  line  and 
camped  twelve  miles  south  of  it.  The  next  day  it 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  23 

reached  Huntsville,  and  passing  through,  took  up 
quarters  in  the  outskirts.  The  Eighty-sixth  was 
the  only  Union  troops  in  the  vicinity,  the  brigade  hav 
ing  passed  on,  leaving  orders  for  it  to  follow  imme 
diately.  When  night  came  on,  the  Colonel  became 
uneasy,  for  citizens  reported  a  force  of  the  enemy 
near  at  hand.  Upon  this  intelligence  he  moved  his 
command  into  town,  and  took  up  position  on  the 
square.  Companies  were  stationed  in  the  different 
streets  leading  to  it,  in  anticipation  of  a  surprise. 
The  night  passed  in  suspense,  but  no  enemy  ap 
peared. 

Huntsville  was  a  beautiful  town  with  a  fine  location. 
It  was,  before  the  war,  the  mart  of  Northern  Alabama. 
There  is  a  large  and  handsome  spring  there,  well  worth 
the  visit  of  the  tourist  and  passer-by.  By  its  own 
force  it  runs  machinery  which  pumps  water  for  the 
whole  town  in  sufficient  quantity. 

The  regiment  greatly  disliked  to  leave  this  place, 
and,  in  after  times,  when  it  was  wont  to  wish  itself 
in  some  pleasant  abode,  it  would  fondly  revert  to 
Huntsville.  But,  early  on  the  morning  of  the  10th, 
it  took  up  the  line  of  march  for  Stevenson,  Alabama, 
where  it  expected  it  would  certainly  join  the  brigade. 
It  had  not  marched  from  Huntsville  more  than  three 
miles  when  a  soldier  from  Company  H,  Mr.  Church 
by  name,  while  walking  in  the  woods  near  the  road, 
espied  a  squad  of  concealed  bushwhackers,  whereupon 
he  fired  at  them,  and  killed  one.  The  dead  body 
was  brought  to  the  road  and  left  in  plain  view,  being 
labeled  with  these  words:  "A  bushwhacker."  A 
great  number  of  negroes —  men,  women  and  children, 
of  every  age  and  size,  of  every  hue  of  the  skin  from 
yellow  to  concentrated  blackness,  followed  out  from 
Huntsville,  presenting  a  jolly  scene. 

The  march  to  Bridgeport  attaches  nothing  of  much 


24  HISTORY   OF   TPIE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

importance  to  it,  only  the  usual  occurring  incidents. 
The  sick  and  barefooted  were  left  at  Brownville,  to 
be  transported  from  thence  to  Stevenson  on  the  cars, 
where  they  joined  the  command.  The  regiment 
reached  Bridgeport  on  the  14th,  where  it  received  a 
mail  —  the  first  since  Columbia.  The  brigade  had 
gone  on  from  this  place  to  Chattanooga,  to  join 
General  Kosecrans'  army,  which  was  on  the  eve  of 
battle  with  Bragg. 

On  the  morning  of  the  15th,  the  regiment  left  Bridge 
port,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  16th,  tired  and  worn 
out,  it  crossed  Lookout  mountain,  and  joined  the 
brigade  at  Rossville,  six  miles  south  from  Chattanooga. 
In  this  vicinity  was  collected  a  large  army,  and  the  great 
battles  that  succeeded  were  imminent  Here  ended 
these  hard  marches  after  so  long  a  time..  The  Eighty- 
sixth  had  been  in  the  campaign  nearly  twenty-seven 
days,  seventeen  of  which  it  formed  its  own  company, 
having  passed  over  the  hostile  country  lying  between 
Columbia  and  Chattanooga,  which  was  infested  with 
strong  bands  of  guerrillas  of  the  most  desperate  kind, 
without  the  loss  of  a  man.  It  was  now  much  fatigued 
and  hoped  to  have  a  short  respite  from  its  labors  — 
but  not  so,  something  of  a  more  terrible  nature  was 
forthcoming  —  the  bloody  battle  of  Cbickamauga. 
General  Bragg  turned  on  our  forces  under  Kosecrans, 
on  the  16th  of  September,  on  the  17th,  skirmish 
ing  began,  and  on  the  18th,  very  hard  skirmishing 
and  some  fighting  came  off.  It  was  on  the  18th  that 
the  brigade,  under  command  of  Colonel  Dan.  McCook, 
was  sent  out  to  the  Chickamauga  creek  to  burn  a 
bridge,  which  it  successfully  accomplished.  A 
force  of  the  enemy  came  near  capturing  it,  having 
nearly  surrounded  it.  During  the  fight  that  ensued, 
it  lost  a  good  many  men.  On  the  evening  of  the 
19th,  the  brigade  returned  to  Rossville,  afterwards 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTEY.  25 

moving  out  on  the  road  leading  to  McAfee  church, 
and  took  up  position  just  inside  the  Kossville  Gap. 
Here  it  remained  in  readiness  for  any  emergency,  all 
the  night  of  the  19th. 

Our  corps,  commanded  by  General  Gordon  Granger, 
was  held  in  reserve  at  this  battle,  and  was  not  gener 
ally  engaged  on  the  19th.  The  battle  of  the  19th 
was  a  hard  contested  one,  and,  when  night  came,  the 
advantages  were  about  equal.  The  enemy  were  vastly 
superior  in  numbers,  in  about  the  ratio  of  five  to 
three,  making  him  buoyant  and  desperate  on  this  day 
and  the  next.  On  the  next  day,  the  20th  of  Septem 
ber,  the  fate  of  Chickamauga  was  to  be  decided. 

The  battle  commenced  at  half-past  eight  A.  M.,  the 
effort  of  the  enemy  being,  as  on  the  previous  day,  to 
turn  the  left  flank  of  our  army,  and  then  gain  access 
to  the  Lafayette  and  Chattanooga  road.  Thomas,  who 
was  in  command  at  the  left,  was  hard  pressed  from 
the  start,  and  General  Eosecrans  directed  him  to  hold 
on,  assuring  him  that  he  should  be  reinforced  if  neces 
sary,  by  the  entire  army.  Our  brigade  was  moved, 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  20th,  from  its  position  of 
the  night  previous,  and  marched  out  on  the  left  wing 
of  the  army  to  an  old  church,  known  as  the  McAfee 
church.  Here  it  maneuvered  about  on  the  left  flank 
of  the  army,  taking  different  positions,  in  readiness  for 
the  expected  advance  of  the  enemy  in  that  quarter. 
The  battle  continued  to  rage  furiously  on  our  right. 
From  some  misunderstanding,  there  was  a  gap  left  in 
the  line  of  battle  on  the  right  centre  of  the  army. 
The  rebels  instantly  worked  into  this  breach,  striking 
our  troops  in  flank  and  rear,  throwing  them  into  com 
plete  confusion,  from  which  they  never  recovered  till 
they  reached  Kossville.  Seven  brigades,  or  about 
one-fourth  of  our  entire  force,  were  thus  swept  away 
by  this  misfortune,  and  though  the  loss  in  killed  and 


26  II1STOKY   OF   THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

wounded  was  not  very  heavy,  and  that  in  prisoners  less 
than  would  have  been  expected,  they  were  effect 
ually  cut  off  from  rendering  further  aid  to  the  rest  of 
the  army  during  that  day.  Among  those  in  this 
rout,  were,  without  fault  of  their  own,  Major-Generals 
Rosecrans,  McCook,  and  Crittenden.  Each  made 
repeated  efforts  to  join  the  main  body,  but  in  vain, 
and  finally  fell  back  to  Rossville,  whence  General 
Rosecrans  sent  his  chief  of  staff,  General  Garfield,  to 
ascertain  how  Thomas  was  succeeding  in  holding  the 
rebels  at  ba_y,  and  himself,  with  Generals  McCook  and 
Crittenden,  went  on  to  Chattanooga,  to  secure  the 
trains  and  put  the  city  in  a  state  of  defense,  if,  as  he 
feared,  the  army  should  be  driven  to  retreat  thither. 
The  rout  on  the  right  wing  took  place  about  one 
o'clock  P.  M.  Notwithstanding  the  break  on  the  right, 
General  Thomas,  though  opposed  by  a  force  at  least 
five  to  two,  stood  grim  a.nd  defiant,  resisting  the  re 
peated  assaults  upon  his  lines  with  a  persistency  never 
surpassed.  From  two  o'clock  till  sunset,  a  terrible 
battle  raged  along  Thomas'  line.  About  two  in  the 
afternoon,  our  brigade  was  ordered  to  the  assistance  of 
Thomas,  it  then  being  some  three  miles  to  his  left,  and 
going  this  distance  on  the  double-quick.  The  General 
saw  a  cloud  of  dust  in  the  direction  we  were  coming, 
and,  it  is  said,  he  was  uneasy  at  first,  not  knowing 
whose  forces  they  were,  Confederate  or  Union.  A 
messenger  was  sent  to  ascertain  who  they  were  and 
whence  they  came.  "W hen  the  brigade  arrived  and  was 
taking  up  position,  the  enemy  opened  a  furious  fire 
upon  it,  and  had  it  advanced  a  short  distance  further, 
would  certainly  have  been  captured.  When  the 
brigade  got  into  position,  Battery  I,  replied  with  spirit 
to  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  which,  by  this  time,  had  got 
the  right  range  on  us.  Oar  position  now  became 
fairly  hideous  ;  the  woods  roared  and  the  very  heavens 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER   INF  ANTE  Y.  27 

quaked,  while  shot  and  shell  filled  the  air  with  fright 
ful  sounds.  The  grass  and  woods  between  our  brigade 
and  the  enemy  had  caught  fire,  which  conspired  to 
make  our  position  more  disagreeable  than  ever,  though 
it  doubtless  saved  us  a  hard  fight,  for  the  rebels  would 
not  advance  through  it. 

The  other  two  brigades  of  our  division,  still  on  our 
right,  led  by  General  Steedman  in  person,  rushed 
upon  the  enemy  in  a  furious  charge,  which  was  pass 
ing  through  a  low  gap  to  the  rear  and  flank  of  Bran- 
nan's  position.  The  shock  was  terrible ;  and  for  a 
time,  as  the  opposing  forces  met  in  a  hand-to-hand  fight, 
success  swayed  from  side  to  side ;  in  a  few  minutes 
more  the  enemy  was  repulsed,  and  dared  not  make 
the  attempt  again.  A  thousand  of  these  brave  men 
fell,  killed  or  wounded,  in  that  brief  half  hour's 
struggle ;  but  they  held  the  gap. 

When  night  came,  the  battle  ceased,  everything 
becoming  still  and  hushed.  The  enemy  now  fell  back, 
leaving  the  field  of  battle  in  possession  of  General 
Thomas  ;  but  finding  the  ammunition,  food  and  water 
necessary  for  his  men  were  exhausted,  the  General 
withdrew  with  his  troops  about  midnight  to  Eossville, 
where  they  arrived  in  good  order.  McCook's  brigade 
was  the  last  that  left  the  field,  and  the  Eighty-sixth, 
the  last  regiment.  It  was  after  one  o'clock  at  night 
when  it  passed  the  Eossville  Gap  and  went  into  camp. 
There  laid  down  to  sleep  that  night  a  tired  set  of 
men,  the  fatigues  of  the  day  having  almost  overcome 
them.^  Many  a  brave  comrade  fell  on  the  bloody  field 
of  Chickamauga ;  and  another  such  would  have  ruined 
our  army. 

On  the  next  day,  the  31st,  our  brigade  took  a 
position  on  the  right  of  Eossville  Gap.  A  strong 
force  was  left  here  to  keep  back  the  enemy  till  the 
army  could  fall  back  on  Chattanooga.  The  rebels 


28  HISTORY  OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

pushed  buoyantly  forward  and  opened  onus  a  heavy 
cannonade.  Oar  forces  held  the  gap  until  night,  when 
they  abandoned  it,  and  retreated  on  Chattanooga, 
Our  brigade  arrived  in  Chattanooga  very  late  at  night, 
and  after  much  changing  about,  took  up  position  and 
laid  down  to  rest. 

Here  ends  the  battle  and  the  retreat,  a  stirring  epoch 
in  our  history.  During  this  battle,  the  regiment  had 
the  honor  of  conducting  itself  in  a  praiseworthy 
manner.  There  is  but  one  exception,  and  thai  is  per 
sonal.  It  was  the  case  of  Major  0.  Fountain,  who 
conducted  himself  in  a  disrespectful  manner  by  be 
coming  intoxicated.  On  this  account  he  was  soon 
afterwards  recommended  for  a  discharge,  which  was 
duly  furnished  him.  Major  Fountain  had  many  qual 
ifications  of  a  good  soldier,  and  previous  to  this,  had 
conducted  himself  in  a  proper  manner. 

After  the  battle,  our  brigade  remained  in  Chatta 
nooga  three  days,  during  which  time  it  wras  formed  in 
line  and  held  as  a  reserve.  The  enemy  was  hourly 
expected  to  pounce  upon  our  forces  and  attempt  to 
regain  the  place,  for  unless  they  did,  no  real  advan 
tages  were  gained  by  their  successes  at  Chickamauga. 
Our  troops  were  not  disheartened  or  hopeless,  but 
eager  and  determined  to  conquer  in  a  second  engage 
ment.  The  enemy,  however,  was  severely  punished, 
otherwise  he  would  have  followed  up  his  successes. 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.       29 


CHAPTEE     III. 

MISSION  RIDGE   AND   KNOXVILLE. , 

On  the  2-4th  of  September,  four  days  after  the 
battle  of  Chickamauga,  our  regiment  and  brigade 
was  ordered  to  the  north  side  cf  the  Tennessee  river, 
to  guard  a  ford  near  the  mouth  of  North  Chickamauga 
creek,  some  eight  miles  up  the  river  from  Chatta 
nooga. 

On  its  way  to  this  ford,  the  brigade  remained  a  few 
days  near  another  ford  about  equidistant  from  the 
upper  one  and  Chattanooga,  where  it  threw  up  works, 
and  leaving  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  Illinois 
to  guard  them,  went  on  to  the  upper  ford,  arriving 
there  on  the  27th,  and  taking  up  permanent  quarters. 
This  place  was  considered  a  prominent  one  in  a  mili 
tary  view,  and  was  accordingly  strongly  protected. 
The  boys  now  set  to  work  building  shanties  for  their 
comfort,  as  it  was  probable  the  command  would  make 
its  winter-quarters  there.  They  would  fell  trees,  chop 
off  large  cuts  and  split  them  into  slabs.  Out  of 
these  rough  slabs  snug  shanties  were  made,  and  to 
put  on  the  finishing  touch,  fire-places  were  built  in 
them.  When  cold,  keen  winds  blew  fierce  without, 
the  soldier  sat  comfortable  within,  and  soon  our  North 
Chickamauga  camp  became  a  semi-paradise  —  a  home 
in  the  woods.  It  was  here  the  brigade  suffered  so 
much  from  hunger ;  famine  was  our  ghost,  it  haunted 
us  by  day  and  by  night. 

The  troops  were  not  supplied  with  half  rations,  for 
the  transportation  of  the  army  was  insufficient  It 


30  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

was  impossible  to  procure  adequate  supplies  for  a  large 
army  bj  hauling  them  sixty  miles  over  the  horrible 
roads  across  the  Cumberland  and  Walden  ridges  — 
roads  in  which  six  miles  a  day  was  all  the  distance  a 
six-mule  team  could  accomplish.  This  state  of  affairs 
could  not  last  long. 

The  Tennessee  river  is  very  crooked.  Below  Chat 
tanooga  it  makes  two  bends  ;  the  first,  eight  miles  in 
circuit,  and  only  one  and  a  half  across ;  the  other, 
thirty  miles  in  circuit,  and  four  miles  across.  If 
these  two  peninsulas  could  be  gained,  wagon  trans 
portation  would  be  reduced  to  ten  miles.  To  accom 
plish  this,  Hookers  command  was  ordered  from  Bridge 
port  through  Shellmount  to  the  Lookout  valley,  thence 
to  Brown's  ferry.  While  Hooker  was  doing  this,  a 
detail  from  Chattanooga,  under  command  of  General 
Hazen,  proceeded  down  the  river  in  pontoon  boats  to 
Brown's  ferry,  and  succeeded  in  laying  a  pontoon 
bridge. 

From  here  there  was  a  good  road  to  Kelly's  ferry, 
and  loaded  wagons  could  go  from  that  point  to  Chat 
tanooga  in  half  a  day. 

On  the  night  of  the  27th,  General  Geary's  division 
of  Hooker's  command,  pitched  its  camp  in  advance 
of  the  main  force,  near  Wauhatchie  in  the  Lookout 
valley,  and  was  attacked  at  two  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  28th. 

Geary  held  his  ground,  and  Longstreet  was  defeated 
with  severe  loss.  The  night  of  this  battle  was  clear, 
and  the  moon  shone  bright.  The  roar  of  artillery  and 
rattle  of  musketry  could  be  distinctly  heard  from  our 
camp  on  the  Chickamauga.  Such  an  affair  at  the 
dead  of  night,  when  all  else  is  cairn  and  hushed,  pre 
sents  a  thrill  of  emotions  that  can  be  experienced, 
under  no  other  circumstances. 

On  the  29th  of  October,  Colonel  Dan.  McCook  re- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  31 

ceived  orders  to  despatch  two  of  his  regiments  to  the 
assistance  of  General  Hooker,  who  was  now  in  the 
Lookout  valley.  The  Eighty-sixth  Illinois  and  Fifty- 
second  Ohio,  were  accordingly  ordered  to  report  to 
him.  They  crossed  to  the  south  side  of  the  Tennessee 
on  the  pontoon  bridge  at  Kelly's  ferry,  below  Chatta 
nooga.  After  crossing  the  river,  the  Eighty-sixth  was 
sent  to  guard  a  pass  in  the  Raccoon  ridge,  and  passed 
there  a  most  miserable  night.  It  was  perched  on  a 
hill-side,  the  rain  falling  in  torrents,  and  every  man 
being  obliged  to  hold  to  a  sapling  to  keep  from  going 
down. 

From  this  pass,  the  next  day,  the  regiment  went 
down  the  ridge  to  a  position  opposite  Lookout  moun 
tain,  where  it  relieved  a  brigade  of  Hooker's  men. 
The  enemy  had  a  battery  planted  on  the  Lookout,  at 
the  Point  of  Rocks,  whence  he  shelled  us  continually. 
The  boys  could  tell  when  this  battery  would  shoot, 
and  dodge  accordingly.  It  was  here  we  had  our  first 
intercourse  with  Eastern  troops.  They  had  odd  ways, 
peculiar  to  themselves,  which  the  Western  boys  were 
unused  to,  and  in  consequence,  many  taunting  words 
were  passed,  for  either  party  was  loth  to  take  the  jaw 
of  the  other.  The  Eighty-sixth  and  Fifty-second, 
remained  in  front  of  Lookout  mountain  five  days, 
when  they  were  relieved  and  sent  back  to  North 
Chickamauga,  arriving  there  on  the  evening  of  the 
5th  of  November,  after  an  absence  of  seven  days. 

Again  the  boys  set  themselves  to  refitting  their 
shanties,  for  it  now  seemed  probable  there  would  be 
no  more  moving  for  a  long  time.  The  weather  was 
then  disagreeably  cold,  and  they  must  work  or  freeze 
—  they  worked. 

Most  every  mess  soon  had  comfortable  habitations, 
and  some  of  them  very  neat  ones  indeed.  But  after 
all  their  pains,  it  became  evident  they  would  not  re- 


32  HISTORY  OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

main  long  at  this  camp.  Oar  army  was  beginning 
to  strengthen,  and  everything  indicated  a  move. 

About  the  20th  of  November,  pontoons  were  placed 
in  the  mouth  of  the  North  Chickamauga  for  some  pur 
pose,  then  unknown,  but  afterwards  revealed.  There 
were  one  hundred  and  sixteen  pontoon  boats  in  num 
ber,  in  which  Giles  A.  Smith's  brigade  of  the  Fifteenth 
Corps  embarked  on  the  night  of  the  23rd,  and  entering 
the  Tennessee,  moved  swiftly  down  three  miles,  closely 
hugging  the  right  bank ;  then  crossed,  and  landed  a 
small  force  above  the  West  Chickamauga,  and  the  re 
mainder  just  below  it.  Landing  this  force,  the  boats 
were  dispatched  to  the  opposite  side  for  reinforcements. 
Two  divisions  were  ferried  over,  and  by  noon,  a  pon 
toon  bridge  across  the  Tennessee,  fourteen  hundred 
feet  long,  and  another  across  the  West  Chickamauga, 
two  hundred  feet  long,  were  completed. 

Long  before  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  24th, 
our  division  under  command  of  Jefferson  C.  Davis, 
was  marched  down  the  right  bank  of  the  Tennessee 
to  a  point  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  West  Chicka 
mauga,  where  the  pontoon  bridge  was  being  construct 
ed.  At  one  P.  M.,  the  Fifteenth  Corps,  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  river,  advanced  in  three  columns,  and  at 
half-past  three  were  in  possession  of  the  Missionary 
Hills  without  loss.  Our  division  crossed  the  pontoons 
late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  24th,  in  a  drizzling  rain, 
and  after  much  maneuvering  took  up  a  position  in  a 
thick  and  swampy  woods. 

The  night  of  the  24th  passed  off  with  some  fighting, 
as  the  enemy  made  an  effort  to  regain  his  lost  ground, 
but  his  effort  proved  abortive,  During  the  battle  of 
the  25th,  our  division  was  held  as  support  to  General 
Sherman,  who  was  ordered  to  make  a  demonstration 
on  Fort  Buckner,  on  Tunnel  Hill.  When  Sherman's 
persistence  had  drawn  nearly  one-half  the  force  from 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  33 

Fort  Bragg  to  Fort  Buckner,  six  signal  guns,  fired  at 
intervals  of  two  seconds,  told  the  advance  of  the 
Fourth  Corps  to  the  assault  on  Fort  Bragg.  This 
assault  proved  a  complete  success.  The  rebel  works 
were  captured,  and  with  Hooker  on  their  left  flank  and 
rear,  and  their  centre  broken,  they  were  in  a  complete 
rout.  Here  ended  the  day,  and  under  cover  of  night 
Bragg's  army  beat  a  hasty  and  disorderly  retreat. 

During  this  battle  our  brigade  was  not  engaged,  but 
being  held  in  close  reserve,  it  could  see  things  well  done. 
The  next  thing  on  the  programme  was  the  pursuit 
Our  division  was  ordered  to  march  atone  o'clock  A.  M., 
on  the  26th,  and  crossing  the  Chickamauga  by  the  pon 
toon  at  its  mouth,  pushed  forward  for  the  enemy's  de 
pot,  and  by  eleven  A.  M.  it  appeared  at  the  depot,  just  in 
time  to  see  it  in  flames.  Entering  with  one  brigade, 
General  Davis  found  the  enemy  occupying  two  hills 
partially  entrenched,  just  beyond  the  depot.  They 
were  soon  driven  away.  At  this  place  was  to  be 
found  all  manner  of  things,  burning  and  broken. 
Corn  and  corn-meal,  wagons,  caissons,  guns,  pontoons, 
balks,  chesses,  and  the  like,  were  lying  around  pro 
miscuously. 

As  the  command  advanced,  every  kind  of  plunder 
lined  the  road,  the  private  soldier  having  even  thrown 
away  his  provisions  and  clothing,  being  in  the  utmost 
confusion  and  excitement.  When  the  division  reached 
Shepherd's  run,  some  two  miles  north  of  Grayville, 
it  found  the  enemy's  rear  guard  intending  to  camp, 
and  showing  a  disposition  for  fight.  Accordingly, 
General  Davis  ordered  it  into  line  and  to  charge  the 
rebels  away.  It  was  not  long  in  executing  orders. 
After  running  a  long  distance,  jumping  fences,  creeks 
and  other  obstacles,  it  found  the  enemy  in  strong 
skirmish  force,  which  was  made  to  give  ground, 
4 


34  HISTORY  OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

but  night  drawing  near,  no  decisive  advantage  was 
gained. 

Our  division  held  its  position  until  morning,  when 
it  was  again  set  off  on  the  pursuit,  marching  in  sup 
porting  distance  of  General  Hooker  who  was  engaging 
the  enemy  at  the  Einggold  pass.  After  several 
charges,  Hooker  finally  succeeded  in  dislodging  the 
rebel  force,  and  took  possession,  capturing  three 
hundred  prisoners.  The  loss  of  Hooker's  command 
here  was  heavier  than  in  the  capture  of  Lookout 
mountain. 

The  junction  of  Bragg  and  Longstreet  was  now  no 
longer  a  possibility.  In  the  meantime,  the  siege  of 
Knoxville  was  pressed  with  ardor  by  the  forces  under 
Longstreet,  and  Burnside  found  himself  in  close 
quarters.  Having  disposed  of  Bragg,  General  Grant 
determined  to  send  a  force,  under  Sherman,  to  the 
relief  of  Knoxville.  Our  division  formed  a  part  of 
this  force. 

Early  on  the  28th  of  November,  bleak  and  cold, 
Sherman  began  his  northern  march  through  East' 
Tennessee,  to  the  assistance  of  the  beleaguered  city. 
On  its  route  to  Knoxville,  our  division  passed  near 
Cleveland  on  the  29th,  and  on  December  1st,  crossed 
the  Hiawassee  river.  Marching  on,  it  arrived  at  a 
point  on  the  Little  Tennessee  opposite  Morgantown,  on 
the  4th,  and  crossing,  marched  up  the  river  four  miles 
when  orders  were  countermanded ;  then,  counter 
marching,  recrossed  the  river  at  Morgantown — Long- 
street  having  abandoned  the  siege,  and  hastily  retreat 
ing  towards  Virginia. 

The  object  of  the  expedition  now  being  accom 
plished,  the  army  began  its  return  march  on  the  7th 
of  December.  General  Jeff.  C.  Davis  had  orders  to 
march  to  Columbus  by  way  of  Madisonville.  On  its 
return,  the  division  passed  through  Madisonville,  on 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  35 

the  first  day's  march,  leaving  the  Eighty-sixth  Illinois 
to  garrison  it  during  the  night  The  regiment  lived 
well  while  here,  nearly  every  family  being  set  to  work 
baking  corn-bread,  cakes,  and  such.  It  passed  a 
pleasant  night  with  the  good  folks  of  this  inland  vil 
lage,  only  regretting  that  it  could  not  remain  longer 
and  enjoy  more  of  their  forced  hospitality. 

Leaving  Madisonville,  the  regiment  plod  on  after 
the  division,  marching  the  distance  of  twenty-five 
miles,  through  mud  and  rain,  reaching  the  Conasauga 
Mills  about  ten  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  8th,  when 
the  division  was  encamped.  No  Eighty-sixth  man 
will  be  so  recreant  to  the  memories  of  the  past  as  to 
forget  this  day's  march.  And  no  one  will  forget  the 
manly  action  of  our  Colonel  on  this  occasion,  who,  to 
encourage  his  men,  trudged  along  through  mud  and 
rain,  allowing  his  wearied  boys  to  ride  his  horse  by 
turns.  The  division  remained  encamped  near  these 
mills  one  week,  living  fat  on  corn-meal,  molasses  and 
pork. 

On  the  15th,  it  again  took  up  the  march,  bound 
for  Chattanooga,  and  arrived  there  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  18th,  after  a  toilsome  march.  Our  brigade  was 
detained  several  hours,  waiting  to  be  ferried  over 
the  Tennessee.  It  was  very  late  at  night  when  the 
Eighty-sixth  effected  a  crossing,  and  when  once  over, 
it  camped  for  the  remainder  of  the  night,  marching  up 
to  its  old  camping  ground,  on  the  morning  ol  the 
19th. 

Here  ends  the  Knoxville  campaign,  and  the  Eightj^- 
sixth  back  in  its  old  camp  on  the  North  Chickamauga. 
This  campaign  consumed  twenty-five  days  of  the 
severest  marching  and  suffering  that  ever  soldiers  ex 
perienced.  Many  returned  barefooted  and  threadbare, 
in  the  chill  month  of  December,  leaving  bloody  tracks 
on  the  frozen  ground.  This  march  may  be  fairly 


36  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

numbered  among  the  hardest  of  our  hardships.  No 
men  ever  bore  up  under  so  many  ills  with  more  forti 
tude  than  did  the  men  in  this  arduous  and  difficult 
campaign  to  the  relief  of  the  besieged  and  almost  sub 
jugated  Knoxville.  On  this  trip  we  saw  more  •  loyal 
people  than  in  all  our  previous  service. 

Long  live  the  good  people  of  East  Tennessee ;  may 
they  live  in  peace  and  die  in  plenty ! 

On  tliis  march  Company  Gr,  of  the  Eighty-sixth, 
met  with  a  sad  misfortune  near  Louden  ;  it  was  the 
accidental  death  of  Sergeant  Haynes.  The  column 
had  just  halted  when  one  of  his  company  carelessly 
threw  down  his  gun,  which  going  off,  shot  the  sergeant 
in  the  head,  killing  him  instantly. 

The  boys  now  made  free  to  stick  close  to  their 
shanties  and  fire-places,  for  their  clothing  was  scant 
and  the  weather  extremely  cold.  The  division  did 
not  remain  at  North  Chickamauga  long,  for,  on  the 
26th  of  December,  it  crossed  the  Tennessee,  taking 
up  camp  at  McAfee's  church,  on  the  left  of  the 
uaickamauga  battle-field  and  six  miles  from  Chatta- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  37 


CHAPTEE    IY. 

ABOUT   CHATTANOOGA. 

The  beginning  of  the  year  1864  found  the  Eighty- 
sixth  regiment  in  camp  at  McAfee's  church,  busily 
engaged  in  building  shanties  and  preparing  for  the 
winter,  which  was  extremely  cold  and  disagreeable. 
These  rude  habitations  were  soon  made  comfortable, 
and  had  we  been  well  provided  with  provisions  and 
clothing,  everything  would  have  passed  off  gay  and 
lively.  Eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-three  passed 
away,  taking  with  it  many  fond  recollections,  and 
many,  too,  that  were  not  pleasant.  The  hardships  and 
privations  we  were  called  upon  to  endure,  together 
with  our  successes  and  pleasures,  seemed  now  to  be 
nothing  more  than  an  apologue  of  which  the  moral  is 
the  only  reliable  feature.  There  was  good  cause  for 
rejoicing,  for  success  had  attended  our  arms  on  land 
and  sea.  The  Mississippi  had  been  opened,  and  the 
enemy  amazingly  defeated  at  every  point  in  the 
South-west. 

Our  encampment  on  the  Chickamauga  battle 
ground  had  a  fine  location,  and  possessed  many 
advantages  in  wood  and  water.  A  deal  of  pains  and 
labor  was  taken  to  make  this  camp  comfortable 
and  healthy.  Green  trees  were  set  out  in  front  of 
the  company  grounds,  which  beautified  and  made 
them  enchanting. 

This  vicinity  of  the  South  is  noted  for  its  grand 
natural  scenery,  nowhere  to  be  surpassed.  We  read 
of  the  romantic  scenery  of  the  Oriental  world  —  of 


HISTOKY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

the  versatility  of  Italians  summer  winds  —  of  the 
magic  charms  of  her  hills,  her  rills,  and  dales ;  but 
the  realities  here  presented  are  more  enchanting  than 
the  probabilities  of  a  might  be  in  other  parts  of  the 
world.  From  the  heights  of  Lookout  mountain  the 
country  around  has  the  appearance  of  one  vast  field 
of  ridges,  tending  in  their  direction  from  north  to 
south.  This  mountain  is  2,500  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  Tennessee,  and  from  the  Point  of  Rocks,  a  man 
in  the  valley  below  appears  to  be  no  larger  than 
one's  thumb,  and  a  train  of  cars  gliding  along  at  its 
base  has  the  appearance  of  tiny  toys.  Chattanooga, 
a  distance  of  more  than  five  miles,  seems  to  lie 
directly  at  its  base.  The  first  range  of  ridges  to  the 
eastward  of  Lookout  range  is  known  as  Missionary 
Ridge.  The  next  in  succession  are  the  Pea  Vine, 
Pigeon,  Taylor's,  and  Rocky  Face. 

Missionary  Ridge,  the  scene  of  Bragg's  disaster, 
breaks  off  from  its  regular  course  at  Rossville,  in  a 
curve  to  the  eastward,  striking  the  river  some  five 
miles  above  Chattanooga,  thus  forming  on  the  south 
and  south-east  a  perfect  wall  of  natural  defenses,  upon 
which,  for  two  months,  lay  the  besieging  forces  of  the 
Confederate  army.  To  complete  the  semicircle  of  walls 
around  Chattanooga  on  the  south  side  of  the  river, 
Lookout  mountain  stands  in  its  huge  dimensions,  a 
key  to  the  South-west. 

In  the  Chickamauga  valley,  on  the  south-east  side 
of  Missionary  Ridge,  from  McAfee's  church  to  Lee 
and  Gordon's  Mills,  is  the  site  of  the  Chickamauga 
battle-field. 

That  place,  even  when  we  went  there  to  camp,  more 
than  three  months  after  the  battle,  presented  a  repul 
sive  sight.  The  enactment  of  that  terrible  conflict, 
when  leaden  rain  fell  thick  and  fast  around  us,  when 
the  dying  were  gasping  in  the  last  agonies  of  death, 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  39 

when  wounded  and  dead  men  covered  the  gory  field, 
and  the  terrible  thought  of  immediate  danger  crowded 
our  minds, — produced  not  half  the  emotions  of  human 
misery  that  were  experienced  nearly  four  months  after 
wards  when  we  viewed  the  same  field.  Here  and 
there  could  be  seen  the  putrified  form  of  a  human' 
creature  in  Union  garb.  Sometimes  the  skull  and 
other  members  of  the  body  were  seen  detached  along 
the  road-side  or  on  a  stump,  having  been  taken  from 
their  peaceful  repose  by  ruthful  hands  or  hungry 
dogs. 

The  entire  field  was  yet  cumbered  with  great  num 
bers  of  our  dead,  and,  in  most  cases,  the  flesh  had 
fallen  from  the  bones,  leaving  nothing  but  the  mere 
skeleton.  Years  hence,  children  yet  unborn  will  find, 
in  their  sports  upon  this  field,  a  skull  or  a  bone  of 
these  poor  victims,  and  wonder  and  ask  what  it  is ; 
then,  some  grandfather  will  tell  them  of  the  great 
battle  of  Chickamauga. 

But  to  return  to  Camp  McAfee.  For  awhile  at  first, 
the  boys  were  obliged,  in  a  measure,  to  furnish  their 
own  supplies.  Every  day,  some  one  of  each  mess  had 
to  go  six  miles  to  mill  and  try  his  hand  for  flour,  some 
times  being  extremely  lucky,  but  more  frequently,  to 
return  without  a  mite.  These  were,  with  propriety, 
called  our  "  milling  days."  Thus  our  time  dragged 
heavily  on. 

On  the  evening  of  the  27th  of  January,  our  divi 
sion  received  orders  to  march  the  next  morning  at 
daylight,  with  three  days  rations  in  their  haversacks. 
Accordingly,  on  the  morning  of  the  28th,  it  led  out 
in  the  direction  of  Ringgold,  still  under  the  command 
of  General  Jeff.  C.  Davis.  General  Batie's  brigade 
followed  Morgan's,  and  Colonel  McCook's  brought  up 
the  rear.  The  evening  of  the  same  day  the  command 
camped  at  Einggold,  a  distance  of  twelve  miles. 


40  HISTORY    OF   THE    EIGHTY-SIXTH 

Here  it  remained  until  ten  A.  M.  the  next  day,  waiting 
the  result  of  a  reconnoissance  which  was  being  made 
in  the  direction  of  Tunnel  Hill,  when  it  returned  to 
McAfee.  The  enemy  was  found  in  force  at  that  place, 
and  his  strength  tolerably  well  ascertained,  which 
was  the  real  object  of  the  expedition.  This  recon- 
noi stance  resulted  in  the  capture  of  forty  prisoners, 
besides  five  killed  and  seventeen  wounded. 

Again,  on  the  14th  of  February  our  brigade 
marched  to  Chickamauga  Station  to  relieve  the  1st 
brigade  which  was  there  on  outpost  duty.  The 
weather  was  now  cold  and  wet,  and  we  were  with 
out  shanties,  but  the  boys,  with  their  usual  energy,  set 
to  work  and  soon  constructed  comfortable  quarters. 
The  houses  in  the  vicinity  of  the  camp  were  made 
to  suffer  badly  ;  in  many  instances  not  even  a  nail  was 
left  to  mark  the  spot  where  once  stood  a  neat  frame 
building.  Colonel  Magee  returned  to  his  regiment 
while  it  was  here,  having  been  home  on  furlough, 
every  one  being  glad  to  see  his  familiar  face.  About 
the  time  we  began  to  realize  the  benefit  of  our  labors 
at  this  place,  the  brigade  was  ordered  to  inarch,  hav 
ing  been  there  eight  days.  On  Tuesday  morning,  the 
23rd,  the  brigade  received  orders  to  march  in  one 
hour's  time,  it  being  reported  that  the  lines  would  not 
advance  further  than  Grayville,  and  there  go  into 
camp. 

In  consequence  of  this  understanding,  almost  every 
soldier  carried  a  huge  load  of  camp  plunder ;  but  they 
were  sadly  mistaken,  since  the  column  marched  rap 
idly  on  Ring-gold,  a  distance  of  sixteen  miles,  where 
the  other  two  brigades  of  the  division  had  prevously 
arrived.  Most  of  the  command  became  so  much 
fatigued  under  their  burden  that  they  were  obliged  to 
fall  out  and  come  up  at  their  leisure. 

On  the  next  day  the  division  continued  the  march 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.        41 

from  Kinggold  through  Tunnel  Hill  on  to  Buzzard's 
Boost,  a  narrow  defile  in  the  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  where 
it  found  the  enemy  in  force  and  very  defiant.  On 
reaching  the  position  of  the  enemy  at  this  place,  our 
brigade  was  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle,  advancing 
into  position  so  as  to  cover  the  pass,  during  which, 
time  a  heavy  cannonade  was  opened  on  our  lines,  and 
continued  until  dark.  General  Morgan's  brigade  hav 
ing  taken  up  position  on  our  left,  pickets  were  now 
sent  out,  and  comparative  silence  prevailed  during  the 
night. 

Companies  E  and  H  were  detailed  from  the  Eighty- 
sixth  for  picket  duty  on  this  occasion,  company  A 
being  sent  on  the  skirmish  line  the  next  day  at  12  M. 

On  the  morning  of  the  25th  the  pass  was  enveloped 
in  a  dense  fog,  so  much  so  that  objects  could  not  be 
distinguished  at  any  great  distance,  it  being  impossible 
to  discover  a  vestige  of  the  enemy's  lines  until  about 
ten  A.  M.,  when  the  fog  had  partially  disappeared. 
About  this  time,  however,  skirmishing  began  along 
the  line,  resulting  in  a  few  serious  casualties  on  our 
part. 

The  main  reason  for  delaying  operations  so  long 
was  in  not  knowing  the  exact  situation  of  General 
Cruft,  who  had  been  sent  round  the  left  of  Rocky 
Face  Ridge  in  order  to  flank  the  enemy's  position  at 
Buzzard's  Roost  Gap.  Cannon  could  be  heard  in  that 
direction  booming  furiously,  but  nothing  definite  could 
be  determined  by  that. 

It  soon  became  evident,  however,  that  he  was 
advancing  rapidly  on  their  flank  and  rear,  since  the 
roar  of  the  cannon  and  rattle  of  musketry  became 
more  and  more  distinct ;  but  no  news  came  respecting 
his  progress  until  about  ten  A.  M.,  when  an  orderly 
arrived  with  the  desired  information.  Towards  noon 
the  fog  disappeared,  and  the  sun  having  risen  high, 


42  HISTORY  OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

made  it  more  favorable  for  operations,  since  in  the 
morning  it  shone  in  our  eyes  and  blinded  us.  About 
one  o'clock,  Hotchkiss'  2nd  Minnesota  and  Warren's 
19th  Indiana  batteries  moved  into  position  in  front  of 
our  brigade  on  a  high  eminence,  from  whence  they 
began  to  feel  for  the  position  of  the  enemy,  which  was 
soon  discovered  strongly  fortified  on  the  adjacent 
hills.  Soon  after  this  the  Eighty-sixth  was  ordered  to 
advance  over  the  hill  on  which  these  batteries  were 
stationed,  and  attack  the  enemy's  position.  When  it 
reached  the  crest  of  the  hill,  the  rebels  opened  a  furi 
ous  fire  upon  it,  but  this  did  not  derange  the  line  one 
particle,  it  marching  on  with  as  much  good  order  as 
if  on  battalion  drill.  The  regiment  advanced  to  the 
foot  of  a  hill  or  ridge  only  a  few  hundred  yards  from 
the  enemy's  line  of  works,  where  it  halted  and  lay 
down.  Colonel  McCook  urged  Magee  to  charge  the 
works,  but  he  would  not  until  he  got  support  on  his 
right,  as  it  was  unprotected,  and  would  have  resulted 
in  the  utter  ruin  of  the  regiment. 

The  85th,  it  is  true,  was  on  the  right  of  the  Eighty- 
sixth,  but  not  in  supporting  distance,  having  partially 
changed  its  direction  and  ascended  the  acclivity  on 
the  right  too  high.  At  the  same  time  our  brigade 
advanced  on  the  right,  General  Morgan  advanced  on 
the  left  and  made  a  desperate  charge  on  the  enemy's 
position ;  but  he  was  repulsed  in  great  disorder,  the 
steep  and  rugged  rocks  affording  a  natural  barrier 
against  his  assaulting  force.  The  charge  on  the  left 
having  failed  of  success,  the  right  was  ordered  to 
maintain  its  own,  it  being  the  design,  however,  to  push 
forward  the  right  had  Morgan  succeeded  in  his  en 
terprise. 

The  Eighty-sixth  remained  in  its  position  until 
night,  when  it  was  relieved  by  other  troops,  and  fall- 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  43 

ing  back  to  the  rear,  remained  in  comparative  quiet 
during  the  night. 

On  the  morning  of  the  26th  the  Eighty-sixth  was 
marched  to  a  position  covering  the  right  flank  of  our 
forces  in  the  gap.  It  was  anticipated  that  a  force  of 
the  enemy's  cavalry  would  make  a  demonstration  in 
that  direction.  Here  the  regiment  built  good  breast 
works  in  readiness  for  the  expected  attack ;  but  no 
enemy  came,  though  it  remained  until  night,  when  it 
was  withdrawn,  taking  up  the  line  of  march  for  Ring- 
gold.  Soon  after  this  the  whole  force  was  put  on  the 
retreat,  arriving  in  Ringgold  late  at  night. 

Every  Eighty-sixth  man  will  remember  the  Qdd 
sight  that  occurred  on  this  retreat  as  it  entered  Tun 
nel  Hill.  A  large  frame  building  had  caught  on  fire 
and  was  in  full  blaze  when  we  entered  town.  While 
descending  a  ridge  in  closed  ranks,  the  light  from  the 
burning  building  was  reflected  from  every  face,  pre 
senting  a  multitude  of  bright,  pleasing  countenances, 
and  as  all  else  was  dark,  nothing  could  be  seen  but  a 
moving  field  of  shining  faces.  Our  brigade  was  not 
generally  engaged  in  the  battle  just  recited,  the 
Eighty-sixth  and  the  85th  Illinois  being  the  only  reg 
iments  brought  into  action,  though  the  rest  were  in 
close  reserve.  The  Eighty-sixth  loss  was  one  killed 
and  seven  wounded,  the  company  loss  being  as  fol 
lows  :  Co.  H,  three ;  Co.  G,  one ;  Co.  K,  four.  The 
reconnoissance  was  now  ended,  and  its  objects  accom 
plished. 

The  rebels  had  been  sending  troops  to  Mobile, 
but  the  movements  of  this  expedition  compelled  them 
to  bring  them  back.  On  the  next  day,  the  27th,  the 
division  was  put  on  the  march  for  Camp  McAfee, 
where  it  arrived  at  dusk  of  the  same  day,  having 
been  absent  thirteen  days.  But  after  all,  we  were 
destined  to  remain  here  only  a  short  time.  Just 


44  HISTORY   OF   THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

one  week  after  the  reconnoissance  to  Buzzard's  Roost 
we  were  again  put  on  the  move. 

Our  brigade  received  orders  to  march  on  Sunday, 
the  6th  day  of  March,  to  Lee  and  Gordon's  Mills,  situ 
ated  on  the  right  of  the  Chickamauga  battle-ground, 
about  eight  miles  distant  from  the  camps  at  McAfee. 
The  command  was  sent  here  on  account  of  this  being 
a  strategic  point,  and  soon  began  to  lay  off  a  camp, 
which  day  by  day  it  adorned  and  beautified  until  it 
became  an  enchanting  place,  the  very  prototype  of 
the  grand  and  beautiful,  being  situated  on  the  banks 
of  the  South  Chickamauga,  a  handsome  stream  of 
water. 

When  good  comfortable  shanties  had  been  erected, 
the  boys  began  to  ornament  their  grounds  after  the 
first  order  of  things,  for  neither  time  nor  labor  was 
spared  in  this  work,  each  soldier  taking  a  pride  in 
doing  his  part.  All  the  companies  of  each  regiment 
fabricated  ornaments  of  every  conceivable  workman 
ship,  differing  one  from  another,  and  on  the  whole 
really  handsome.  These  ornaments  were  made  of 
pine  and  cedar  boughs  by  the  more  dextrous  and  artis- 
tical  of  our  comrades.  You  might  see  well-fashioned 
eagles,  letters,  figures  and  animals  hung  up  in  con 
spicuous  places  over  a  beautiful  frame-work  of  gothic 
structure,  astonishing  and  eliciting  remark  from  passers 
by.  Besides  these,  there  were  all  kinds  of  machinery 
fluttering  and  struggling  in  the  air  on  long  poles. 
Flutter  mills  and  gunboats  could  be  seen  making  their 
hasty  rounds  ;  men  wrestling  and  turning  many  kinds 
of  machinery  could  be  taken  in  at  the  same  glance  of 
the  eye.  Each  regiment  had  a  -meeting  house  and 
bowers,  weather-boarded  and  covered  with  pine  and 
cedar  boughs,  presenting  the  very  picture  of  enjoy 
ment. 

This  was  the  handsomest  camp  in  the  whole  army, 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  45 

and  drawings  of  it  appeared  in  Harper's  Weekly  and 
Frank  Leslie,  as  model  camps.  It  was  here  the  brig 
ade  enjoyed  soldiering  more  than  at  any  other  time  or 
place  before  or  after,  having  learned  to  make  its  pro 
fession  agreeable,  and  looking  more  particularly  to  its 
comfort  and  enjoyment.  Then,  there  was  added  to 
the  pleasures  of  this  camp  the  noted  springs,  known 
as  Crawfish  Springs.  A  huge  stream  of  bright  clear 
water  forces  itself  from  the  foot  of  the  hill  from 
whence  it  issues.  They  are  a  natural  wonder,  and 
have  called  forth  the  admiration  of  all  who  chanced 
to  visit  them.  The  slaveocracy  of  this  portion  of  the 
South  made  them  their  constant  summer  resort,  and 
the  soldiers  also  enjoyed  them  as  a  pleasant  retreat  to 
drive  dull  time  away. 

The  3rd  brigade  remained  at  Lee  and  Gordon's  Mills 
two  months  wanting  three  days,  during  which  time  it 
contracted  many  fond  attachments,  and  in  after  times 
the  boys  would  revert  to  the  memories  of  this  camp 
with  more  than  ordinary  pleasure.  It  was  while  here 
that  Colonel  Magee  came  from  Camp  McAfee  to  bid 
the  boys  of  his  regiment  good  bye,  having  been  una 
ble  to  leave  that  place  with  his  command.  The 
Colonel's  health  for  a  long  time  had  been  very  poor, 
and  Surgeon  Hooton  assured  him  that  he  could  not 
survive  the  service,  nor  do  justice  to  himself  and  his 
command  by  continuing  in  it.  For  these  reasons  he 
was  induced  to  offer  the  resignation  of  his  command, 
which  in  due  course  of  time  was  accepted.  There 
was  a  universal  feeling  of  sad  regret  with  the  boys  of 
the  Eighty-sixth  at  this  event,  a  regret  that  their  be 
loved  Colonel  no  longer  had  the  strength  of  body  to 
remain  with  them  through  the  trying  events  of  the 
future,  as  he  had  been  their  pride  through  those  of  the 
past. 

Lieutenant- Colon  el   D.    W.    Magee  was   a  man  of 


46  HISTORY   OF  THE    EIGHTY-SIXTH 

humane  and  tender  feeling.  Having  himself  served 
in  the  ranks  in  the  Mexican  war,  he  was  well  qualified 
to  appreciate  the  hardships  and  difficulties  incident  to 
a  soldier's  life.  He  was  free  to  converse  and  associate 
with  his  men,  at  the  same  time  commanding  their 
highest  esteem  and  most  submissive  obedience.  With 
his  gayest  humor  there  mingled  a  settled  air  of  reso 
lution,  which  made  those  who  approached  him  feel 
they  must  obey,  and  which  infused  love  and  confi 
dence  in  those  with  whom  he  was  surrounded.  His 
manners  ingenuous  and  open-hearted,  concealed  an 
imperturbable  and  calculating  spirit.  His  dress  — 
neither  gaudy  nor  striking,  but  neat  —  was  such  as  to 
set  off  his  person  to  advantage. 

The  Colonel  took  his  departure  from  the  regiment 
on  Sunday,  the  27th  of  March,  with  the  consciousness 
of  taking  with  him  the  hearty  "  God  bless  you  "  of 
all  his  men. 

Immediately  after  the  resignation  of  Colonel  Magee, 
the  regimental  and  company  officers  held  an  election, 
and  unanimously  voted  Major  Allen  L.  Fahnestock 
Colonel  of  the  regiment,  who  received  his  commission 
and  was  mustered  in  as  such  on  the  13th  of  April,  1864, 
by  Captain  Cole,  of  the  9th  Indiana.  Colonel  Fahne 
stock  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  with  a 
spirit  and  resolution  that  characterized  him  through 
all  the  future  events  of  the  regimental  history,  worthy 
in  every  respect  the  honors  of  the  position  left  vacant 
by  his  energetic  predecessor. 

At  the  same  time  that  Colonel  Fahnestock  was  pro 
moted,  Captain  J.  F.  Thomas,  of  Company  C,  was 
voted  to  the  position  of  Major  of  the  regiment. 

Major  Thomas  was  a  man  of  a  kind  and  affable  dis 
position,  easy  and  dignified  in  his  intercourse  with 
others,  and  the  real  exemplification  of  the  right  man 
in  the  right  place. 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.       47 


CHAPTEE    Y. 

CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  ATLANTA. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  3rd  of  May,  1864,  the 
Third  Brigade  of  the  Second  Division,  Fourteenth 
Army  Corps,  under  command  of  Colonel  Dan.  McCook, 
left  Lee  and  Gordon's  Mills  and  arrived  in  Kinggold, 
a  distance  of  twelve  Miles,  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day,  and  there  joined  the  other  two  brigades  of 
the  division.  There  was  a  large  army  camped  in  the 
vicinity  of  Kinggold,  and  the  hills  and  valleys  were 
covered  with  camps,  and  rung  merrily  with  the  voices 
of  many  soldiers.  It  now  became  evident  that  the 
indomitable  Sherman  was  assembling  his  whole  force 
to  make  a  crashing  effort  to  drive  back  the  threat 
ening  rebels  under  Jo.  Johnston. 

The  few  days  we  remained  at  Kinggold  our  army 
was  continually  augmenting,  when  by  the  7th  of  the 
month  it  had  assembled  in  force,  and  set  in  motion 
against  the  enerny  at  Tunnel  Hill  and  Dalton. 

The  grand  army  of  the  Mississippi,  under  the  im 
mediate  command  of  Major-General  Sherman,  at  the 
commencement  of  this  campaign,  numbered  ninety- 
eight  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-seven  ef 
fective  men,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty-four  pieces 
of  artillery,  and  was  divided  as  follows : 

The  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  Major-General 
Thomas  commanding  —  infantry,  fifty-four  thousand 
five  hundred  and  sixty-eight ;  artillery,  two  thousand 
three  hundred  and  seventy-seven ;  cavalry,  three 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty-eight  Total,  six- 


48  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

tj  thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-three ;  with 
one  hundred  and  thirty  guns.  Army  of  the  Tennessee, 
Major-General  McPherson  commanding  —  infantry, 
twenty-two  thousand  four  hundred  and  thirty-seven  ; 
artillery,  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  four  ;  caval 
ry,  six  hundred  and  twenty -four.  Total,  twenty-four 
thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty -five  ;  with  ninety-six 
guns.  Army  of  the  Ohio,  Major-General  Schofield 
commanding  —  infantry,  eleven  thousand  one  hundred 
and  eighty-three ;  artillery,  six  hundred  and  seventy- 
nine  ;  cavalry,  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  ninety- 
seven.  Total,  thirteen  thousand  five  hundred  and 
fifty-nine;  with  twenty-eight  guns.  These  numbers 
continued  relatively  the  same  during  the  campaign, 
the  losses  in  battle  and  from  sickness  being  about 
compensated  by  recruits,  and  returns  from  furlough 
and  hospitals. 

The  Fourteenth  Corps,  to  which  our  division  be 
longed,  was  commanded  by  Major-General  Palmer, 
and  was  assigned  to  a  position  under  Thomas  in  the 
centre. 

In  the  move  of  the  grand  army  on  the  7th,  our 
division  reached  Tunnel  Hill  at  noon,  where  the 
enemy  made  a  slight  resistance,  and  while  it  was 
getting  into  position,  a  battery  played  upon  it  from 
an  eminence  near  the  village.  This  battery  was  soon 
dislodged  and  the  enemy  put  to  flight,  retreating 
behind  Eocky  Face  Eidge,  where  he  took  up  position 
in  Buzzard's  Eoost  Gap,  our  forces  following  up 
rapidly,  confronting  his  position,  and  throwing  up 
works  in  case  of  an  attack.  The  night  of  the  7th 
passed  off  with  some  skirmish  firing  in  the  gap  at  the 
Eoost,  and  the  next  day,  nothing  was  done,  only  the 
division  changed  its  front. 

The  command  now  held  this  front  until  the  12th, 
during  which  time  there  were  various  demonstrations 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  49 

made  on  the  rebel's  invincible  position,  to  no  advantage. 
While  here,  the  Eighty-sixth  was  continually  exposed 
to  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  sharpshooters,  who  occupied 
a  position  on  the  highest  and  most  abrupt  portions 
of  the  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  from  whence  they  viewed 
us,  on  the  far-spread  plain  below,  as  mere  Lilliputians 
of  a  vile  Yankee  descent,  and  shooting  among  us, 
often  did  much  injury. 

The  regiment  went  on  the  skirmish  line  on  the  after 
noon  of  the  10th,  where  it  spent  a  most  disagreeable 
night,  not  being  allowed  to  pitch  its  tents.  An  almost 
continuous  skirmish  fire  was  kept  up  on  the  llth, 
resulting  in  no  very  serious  casualties  to  the  Eighty- 
sixth,  though  the  Fifty-second  Ohio  was  made  to  suffer 
severely.  On  the  evening  of  the  llth,  our  command 
was  relieved  by  General  Graft's  division  of  the  Fourth 
Army  Corps. 

In  this  vicinity  was  passed  a  dolesome  time,  the 
country  being  wild  and  rugged,  affording  handsome 
scenery  under  different  circumstances,  but  for  us  it 
had  no  enchantment.  It  was  at  this  same  gap  we 
fought  the  enemy  on  the  25th  of  February  of  the 
same  year.  Companies  H  and  K  had  each  a  man 
wounded  at  this  place,  being  the  only  loss  of  the 


regiment 


On  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  May,  the  Fourteenth 
Corps,  including  our  division,  marched  to  the  right 
along  Rocky  Face  Ridge,  until  it  came  to  Snake 
Creek  Gap,  and  passing  through  it  with  much  diffi 
culty  at  a  late  hour  at  night,  camped  on  the  south-east 
side  of  the  ridge.  Previous  to  this,  General  McPherson 
had  taken  possession  of  this  gap,  completely  surprising 
a  brigade  of  Confederate  cavalry  which  was  coming 
to  watch  and  hold  it. 

McPherson's  and  Hooker's  commands  had  gone 
through  before  us,  and  Schofield's  followed  after  us, 
5 


50  H1STOEY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

the  Fourth  Corps  having  been  left  to  attract  the 
enemy's  attention  in  front.  Thus,  the  whole  army, 
except  Howard's  Fourth  Corps,  moved  through  Snake 
Creek  Gap,  on  Kesaca.  Major-General  Thomas  took 
up  position  on  the  left  of  the  line,  and  McPherson 
and  Schofield  on  his  right,  the  enemy  being  completely 
flanked  by  this  move,  from  his  strong  position  at 
Buzzard's  Eoost  and  Dalton,  and  compelled  to  fall 
back  on  Resaca.  At  this  place,  they  determined  to 
give  our  forces  a  check,  if  possible,  which  moved  on 
their  position  on  the  13th. 

On  the  next  day,  the  14th,  there  was  hard  fighting, 
our  division  taking  a  position  late  in  the  afternoon, 
and  building  breastworks,  the  roar  of  artillery  and 
musketry  continuing  furiously  all  the  day. 

At  dusk,  on  the  evening  of  the  15th,  the  Eighty- 
sixth  was  sent  on  the  skirmish  line  only  a  short  dis 
tance  from  the  rebel  works.  The  enemy  was  very 
conversant  on  this  occasion,  as  was  usually  the  case 
when  their  forces  took  up  the  retreat,  our  boys  telling 
them  that  they  would  wager  their  last  red  that  they 
would  be  gone  before  morning  ;  and  sure  enough, 
when  morning  came,  every  word  of  this  prophecy 
was  verified. 

Our  commanders,  suspecting  the  action  of  the  rebels, 
ordered  our  batteries  to  play  freely  on  their  works. 
These  batteries  were  stationed  on  the  hills  behind  the 
regiment,  the  screaming  missiles  from  them  passing 
over  it,  presenting,  in  the  darkness  of  night,  a  scene 
of  magnificent  grandeur. 

In  the  morning,  the  rebels  had  evacuated  their 
works,  falling  back  for  a  better  position,  which  they 
never  found.  In  this  battle,  the  regiment  lost  five,  in 
all ;  the  company  loss  being  as  follows :  Company 
C,  three  wounded  ;  Company  H,  one  wounded,  and 
Company  I,  one  missing.  No  sooner  had  the  rebels 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  51 

evacuated  Eesaca  than  our  skirmishers  were  aware 
of  the  fact,  so  that,  by  daylight  on  the  16th,  we  were 
in  possession  of  their  works,  the  pursuit  being  taken 
up  at  an  early  hour. 

On  the  evacuation  of  Eesaca,  the  Third  Brigade 
passed  through  it ;  thence,  going  back  nearly  to  Snake 
Creek  Gap,  and  from  that  place  the  division  continu 
ing  along  the  west  side  of  the  Oostanaula  river  in  the 
direction  of  Eome,  arrived  in  the  vicinity  on  the  17th, 
where  it  met  and  fought  the  enemy.  The  Eighty- 
sixth  Illinois  and  Twenty-second  Indiana  were  the 
only  regiments  generally  engaged.  These  two  regi 
ments  advancing  on  the  left  of  the  line  over  uneven 
and  wooded  ground,  found  the  enemy  and  attacked 
him,  a  sharp  fight  ensuing  of  about  twenty  minutes 
in  which  the  foe  was  worsted,  falling  back  into  his 
intrenchrnents ;  and  our  troops,  holding  the  ground, 
built  rail  breastworks.  The  next  morning  the  rebels 
were  gone,  burning  the  bridge  over  the  Oosianaula 
after  them. 

The  loss  of  the  Eighty-sixth  in  this  battle,  was, 
five  killed  and  twelve  wounded,  the  company  loss 
being  as  follows : 

KILLED.  WOUNDED. 

Company  F 2      Company  A 3 

"       *    D 1  "  H 1 

1 1  "          D 4 

E 1  "          F 2 

u  j    2 

Total 5 

Total 12 

On  the  morning  of  the  18th,  the  Eighty-fifth  Illinois 
crossed  the  river  and  took  possession  of  the  village  of 
Eome,  the  remainder  of  the  brigade  following  over  in 
the  evening,  having  to  wait  for  the  construction  of  a 
rickety  pontoon.  The  people  were  very  much  fright- 


52  HISTORY   OF   THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

ened  at  the  event  of  our  entering  their  village,  having 
formed  the  idea  that  the  Yankees  would  extend  them 
no  mercy.  They  told  us  that  they  had  heard  much  of 
Yankee  inhumanity,  and  death  was  the  most  clement 
act  they  had  expected  —  thus  wagged  the  world  with 
them. 

In  the  possession  of  Rome,  General  Jeff.  C.  Davis' 
division  met  with  the  most  gratifying  success,  cap 
turing  its  forts,  with  eight  or  ten  heavy  guns,  valuable 
mills,  foundries,  and  various  railroad  communications. 
Our  brigade  remained  in  Eome  six  days,  the  other 
two  brigades  of  the  division  not  yet  having  crossed 
the  Oostanaula.  During  this  time,  Sherman  had 
halted  his  whole  army  along  the  north  side  of  the 
Etowah  river,  in  order  to  rest  his  troops  and  complete 
communications  as  far  as  Kingston.  This  being  accom 
plished,  he  supplied  his  wagons  with  twenty  days' 
rations,  and  again  set  his  army  in  motion  toward 
Dallas,  nearly  south  from  Kingston,  and  fifteen  miles 
west  from  Marietta. 

On  the  2-ith  day  of  May,  General  Davis'  command 
took  up  the  line  of  march  from  Rome,  crossing  the 
Oostanaula  near  its  mouth,  and  marching  in  a  south 
erly  direction  about  twenty  miles,  camped  in  a  heavy 
rain  storm,  the  Sixteenth  Corps  passing  it  during  the 
night.  The  next  day  the  division  made  a  forced 
march  over  rough  and  disagreeable  roads  without 
gaming  much  distance,  when,  late  in  the  evening, 
distant  cannonading  could  be  heard  at  Dallas.  On 
the  26th  the  command  advanced  a  short  distance 
beyond  Dallas,  and  drawing  up  in  battle  line,  built 
log  breastworks,  as  the  Confederate  army  was  tying 
entrenched  in  a  strong  position  near  this  place. 

Our  lines  were  advanced  still  further  on  the  27th, 
throwing  them  into  a  gap,  far  in  advance  of  the  main 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY  53 

line  of  the  battle,  and  built  breastworks,  with  the 
appearance  of  staying  awhile. 

The  enemy  about  this  time  made  repeated  charges 
on  our  lines,  both  to  the  right  and  left  of  us,  and 
several  on  the  lines  of  the  First  Brigade,  but  only 
one  on  the  Third  Brigade.  These  charges  proved 
very  disastrous  to  the  enemy. 

The  command  remained  in  this  position  nearly  six 
days  without  rest,  being  compelled  to  lie  on  its  arms, 
not  knowing  what  moment  the  enemy  might  come. 
This  detour  of  the  whole  army  from  the  Etowah  in 
its  circuit  to  the  right,  on  Dallas,  was  made  for  the 
purpose  of  turning  Altoona  Pass  which  the  rebels 
determined  to  hold  at  all  hazards,  and  proved  emi 
nently  successful. 

On  the  first  of  June,  our  forces  began  their  move 
from  Dallas  to  the  left,  in  order  to  contract  the  lines, 
and  the  next  position  of  our  division  was  eight  miles 
to  the  left  of  its  former  one,  and  still  on  the  left  of 
the  Fourth  Corps,  remaining  there  two  days,  skirmish 
ing  continually  with  the  enemy  until  it  was  relieved 
and  marched  further  to  the  left,  joining  its  corps,  the 
Fourteenth  ;  they  having  been  separated  since  Resaca. 
Here  the  boys  received  a  mail,  the  first  for  a  long 
while.  The  corps  remained  in  its  position  here  one 
day  after  our  division  joined  it,  the  enemy  evacu 
ating  his  works  on  the  night  of  the  5th  of  June, 
having  been  flanked  therefrom. 

Our  forces  followed  a  short  distance  on  the  morning 
of  the  6th,  but  before  night  took  up  position,  and 
camped  near  Ackworth,  on  the  railroad,  until  the 
9th,  when  they  were  again  set  on  the  move. 

After  its  advance  from  Ackworth,  our  army  was 
not  long  in  finding  the  rebels  in  another  entrenched 
position. 


54  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

About  this  time,  General  Blair  arrived  at  Ack worth, 
with  two  divisions  of  the  Seventeenth  Corps  and  a 
brigade  of  cavalry  —  a  reinforcement  that  amply  com 
pensated  for  our  losses  in  battle,  and  troops  left  in 
garrison  at  Resaca,  Rome,  Kingston  and  Altoona. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th,  the  entire  army  moved 
forward  to  Big  Shanty,  the  next  station  on  the  rail 
road.  Here,  we  found  ourselves  surrounded  by 
scenery  of  peculiar  and  lofty  beauty.  To  our  left, 
and  on  the  east  of  the  railroad,  were  Sweet  mountain 
and  Black  Jack,  while  to  the  westward,  and  nearly 
in  front,  rose  the  bold  and  striking  Kenesaw.  To  the 
right  was  Pine  mountain,  and  more  distinctly  to  the 
right  was  Lost  mountain. 

Here  we  found  the  rebel  General  Johnston,  strongly 
fortified  on  the  northern  slopes  of  Pine,  Kenesaw  and 
Lost  mountains.  General  Sherman  says,  in  his 
official  report:  "The  scene  was  enchanting;  too 
beautiful  to  be  disturbed  by  the  harsh  clamors  of 
war ;  but  the  Chattahouchie  lay  beyond,  and  I  had  to 
reach  it." 

At  this  place,  our  division  took  a  position  at  right 
angles  with  the  railroad  and  a  few  miles  south  of  Big 
Shanty,  where  it  threw  up  substantial  breastworks, 
and  remained  un.til  the  14th,  when  the  lines  were 
advanced  and  another  line  of  works 'thrown  up.  In 
front  of  these  works  there  was  a  deal  of  skirmishing 
carried  on,  creating  undue  excitement  in  the  lines  of 
battle,  for  it  was  thought  the  Johnnies  would  make  a 
trial  on  our  strength  and  position. 

About  this  time  there  was  an  incessant  roar  of  artil 
lery  on  the  extreme  right  of  our  lines,  despite  the 
heavy  rains  that  fell,  which  afterwards  proved  to  be 
the  operations  of  Sherman's  "flanking  machine." 

On  Saturday,  the  18th,  our  lines  were  again  moved 
forward  and  other  works  constructed,  the  boys  work- 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  55 

ing  witli  a  vengeance  all  night  to  find  the  Johnnies 
gone  in  the  morning  ;  being  flanked  and  obliged  to 
evacuate  their  position  for  another.  They  were  fol 
lowed  up  at  early  dawn  on  the  morning  of  the  19th, 
and  chased  to  their  next  place  of  retreat  Their  right 
was  now  found  resting  on  the  Marietta  and  Canton 
road,  with  their  centre  on  Kenesaw  mountain,  and 
left,  across  the  Lost  mountain  and  Marietta  road, 
behind  Nose's  creek,  and  covering  the  railroad  back 
to  the  Chattahoochie.  Our  division  under  Davis, 
took  its  position  directly  in  front  of  the  Big  Kenesaw 
and  nearly  up  to  its  base. 

Several  batteries  of  our  artillery  soon  moved  up  in 
short  range  of  the  Kenesaw  and  opened  a  furious  fire 
upon  it,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  develop  the  wherea 
bouts  of  the  enemy's  masked  batteries.  During  this 
cannonade  it  seemed  that  the  very  heavens  were  in 
agitation  and  the  earth  in  violent  commotion,  but  no 
reply  was  received. 

The  troops  stood  from  behind  their  works  in  full 
view  of  the  enemy,  looking  on  in  silent  amazement, 
enjoying  in  their  hearts  the  sublime  grandeur  of  the 
scene.  Finally,  a  locomotive  was  run  up  to  the  base 
of  the  mountain,  when  behold,  a  masked  battery 
opened  on  it  in  all  its  fury,  the  engine  immediately 
reversing  its  steam  and  running  back. 

On  the  night  of  the  20th  and  21st,  the  rebels  con 
structed  several  strong  forts  on  the  summit  of  the 
Kenesaw,  from  whence  they  annoyed  our  position  a 
great  deal.  On  the  22nd  and  23rd,  interesting  duels 
were  fought  between  these  batteries  of  the  enemy  and 
our  own  ;  and  certainly  there  never  was  a  more  amus 
ing  and  interesting  scene  portrayed  than  exhibited  in 
these  short,  effective  engagements. 

The  scenes  about  Kenesaw  will  ever  maintain  a 
sacred  spot  on  the  tablets  of  our  memory.  During 


56  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

operations  about  this  place  it  rained  almost  continu 
ally  for  three  weeks,  so  that  a  general  move  was  im 
possible. 

On  the  evening  of  the  25th  of  June  our  division 
was  relieved  from  its  position  in  front  of  Kenesaw  by 
a  division  of  the  15th  Corps,  and  after  much  delay 
arrived  at  General  Palmer's  headquarters  on  the  right 
centre  of  the  army. 

The  next  day,  Sunday  the  26th,  it  lay  in  the  rear 
of  the  lines  of  battle,  resting  itself  for  the  dreadful 
scenes  of  the  morrow.  The  loss  of  the  Eighty-sixth 
Regiment,  from  Dallas  up  to  this  time,  was  nine 
wounded  and  one  killed ;  the  company  loss  was  as 
follows : 

Company  I,  one  killed. 

WOUNDED. 

Company  A 1     Company   D 2 

"          1 1  "        K 1 

"        E 1  u        B 2 

"        F 1 

Total 9 

On  the  24th  of  June,  General  Sherman  ordered  that 
two  assaults  should  be  made  on  the  27th,  one  by  Gen 
eral  McPherson's  troops  near  Little  Kenesaw,  and 
another  by  General  Thomas',  about  one  mile  further 
south.  This  came  wholly  unexpected  to  his  troops, 
all  believing  that  he  would  put  "  the  flanking  ma 
chine  "  in  force  whenever  he  made  a  demonstration  on 
the  enemy's  position,  but  Sherman  resolved  to  exe 
cute  any  plan  that  promised  success.  These  two 
assaults  were  made  at  the  time  and  manner  prescribed 
in  the  order,  and  both  failed. 

General  Thomas  chose  the  2nd  division  of  the  14th 
Corps  to  aid  in  the  work  along  his  line,  and  early  on 
the  morning  of  the  27th  it  was  massed  preparatory  to 
a  charge.  The  3rd  brigade,  Colonel  Dan.  McCook 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  57 

commanding,  was  on  the  left  of  the  division  ;  the  2nd 
brigade,  Colonel  Mitchell  commanding,  was  on  the 
right,  and  the  1st  brigade,  General  Morgan  command 
ing,  was  held  in  the  rear  as  reserves.  The  signal  for 
the  charge  was  given  at  8  A.  M.,  by  the  simultaneous 
discharge  of  a  battery  of  guns  ;  the  lines  advancing 
slow  and  steady,  passing  over  our  line  of  works, 
descending  a  hill  over  a  small  stream,  then  crossing 
an  open  field,  ascended  the  acclivity  on  which  the 
enemy's  works  were  built,  when  a  desperate  rush  was 
made  upon  them  with  all  the  fortitude  and  heroism  of 
men  under  a  most  galling  fire  of  cannon  and  mus 
ketry. 

The  brigade  on  our  right  failing  to  come  up,  we 
had  to  receive  the  cross-fire  of  the  enemy.  It  was 
too  withering,  the  men  falling  before  it  as  the  grass 
before  the  scythe.  When  the  works  were  reached  by 
those  who  did  not  fall  in  the  attack,  they  were  too 
weak  and  too  few  in  number  to  effect  a  breach  in 
them,  the  men  lying  down  in  front  of  the  works  and 
up  against  them,  until  the  order  to  fall  back  was 
given.  When  the  order  of  retreat  was  given,  it-  was 
hard  to  obey,  being  attended  with  a  greater  slaughter 
than  the  assault,  the  enemy  having  the  chance  of 
taking  cool  and  deliberate  aim.  Thus  our  broken 
lines  fell  back,  again  taking  position  only  thirty  yards 
from  the  enemy,  and  in  the  most  difficult  manner 
threw  up  a  line  of  works,  at  the  same  time  hugging 
the  ground  for  dear  life,  and  where  we  remained  in 
defiance  of  the  exultant  rebels.  This  was  our  darkest 
day  of  the  war. 

The  loss  of  the  brigade  on  this  occasion  was  truly 
severe.  Colonel  Daniel  McCook  fell  mortally 
wounded,  and  Colonel  Harmon  succeeding  him,  sur 
vived  his  command  but  one  moment,  when  he  was 
carried  off  the  field  a  corpse. 
6 


58  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

The  total  loss  of  the   regiment   in   this  charge,  in 
killed,  wounded  and  missing,  was  ninety-six  men. 
The  company  loss  was  as  follows  : 

KILLED. 

Company  A 11     Company  H 2 

14         C 4  "          1 3 

D 2  "       K 1 

"         F 3 

11        G 2  Lossinkilled  28 

WOUNDED. 

Company  A 1     Company  G 7 

B 3  "        H 13 

C 8  "        K 5 

"         D 9 

tl         E 5  Loss  in  wounded 55 

MISSING. 

Company  A 6     Company  F 1 

D 2  — 

Loss  in  missing 9 

Officers  wounded 4 

Ninety-six  men  were  lost  from  the  Eighty-sixth  on 
that  fatal  day.  It  was  a  loss  to  be  remembered  and 
remarked,  for  they  were  among  our  foremost  and  best 
men.  They  were  as  noble,  as  true  and  trusty  men, 
as  loving  and  as  loyal  as  ever  lived. 

May  a  just  Heaven  reward  them  as  their  merit  de 
serves  !  May  the  earth  rest  light  on  their  bones ! 
Mourn  them  not;  it  was  with  them  "duke  et  decorum 
esl  pro  patria  mori."  How  well  these  men  have  fought 
and  with  what  heroism  they  have  suffered,  let  the  bat 
tles  of  Chickamauga,  Mission  Eidge  and  Kenesaw 
answer !  They  will  be  rewarded,  for  they  have  left 
their  "  footprints  on  the  sands  of  time." 

It  was  now  a  busy  time  at  the  hospitals,  for  they 
were  full  of  the  most  heart-rending  cases.  Among 
the  physicians  conspicuous  there  for  energy  and  abil 
ity,  were  the  indefatigable  Hooton  and  Guth  —  men 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  59 

who  justly  deserved  the  confidence  and  respect  of 
their  boys.  Among  the  most  trying  positions  in  the 
army,  the  Surgeon's  is  first.  The  minds  and  disposi 
tions  of  soldiers  are  as  varied  as  the  colors  of  the  kal 
eidoscope,  and  hard  to  comprehend  even  in  a  sound 
condition,  but  when  fretted  by  ill  health  no  one  man 
could  come  out  best  with  all  of  them.  A  good  Sur 
geon,  like  the  whimsical  pages  of  Tristram  Shandy,  is 
pestily  censured  and  admired  alternately. 

The  3rd  brigade  held  its  position  in  close  proximity 
to  the  enemy's  works  for  six  days,  until  the  3rd  of 
July.  It  was  a  hard  one  indeed,  for  we  were  obliged 
to  hug  the  works  and  keep  concealed  all  the  time, 
night  and  day.  Bullets  were  continually  buzzing 
round  in  threatening  and  unfriendly  style.  An  inter 
esting  incident  occurred,  however,  on  the  29th,  that 
broke  the  monotony  of  our  situation  for  a  short  time  ; 
it  was  an  armistice  of  a  few  hours  to  bury  our  dead, 
the  stench  having  become  so  offensive  to  both  parties 
that  it  could  be  no  longer  endured.  Details  were  sent 
from  every  company  to  perform  the  last  office  to  the 
heroic  dead.  This  having  been  clone,  and  a  head 
board  erected  with  the  name  of  each  upon  it,  to  mark 
the  spot  where  rests  the  sleeping  brave,  the  armistice 
was  concluded.  Soon  after  the  armistice  our  brigade, 
now  under  command  of  Colonel  Dillworth,  began  a 
trench  with  the  intention  of  undermining  the  ene 
my's  works,  and  blowing  them  up,  but  suspecting 
something  underhanded  on  our  part,  they  threw  tur 
pentine  balls  between  the  lines,  which  would  certainly 
have  disclosed  any  outward  movement,  but  the  move 
ment  was  inward,  and  their  handsome  fires  availed 
them  nothing.  This  experiment,  however,  was  fol 
lowed  by  another,  more  successful.  By  placing  a 
drum  on  the  solid  ground  and  a  marble  on  the  head 
of  it,  they  discovered  a  jar  in  the  earth.  This  was 


60  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

sufficient,  and  gathering  up  their  traps  they  evacuated 
early  in  the  evening  of  the  2nd  of  July,  our  forces 
following  on  the  morning  of  the  3rd.  If  the  rebels 
had  not  evacuated  when  they  did,  the  3rd  brigade 
would  have  had  a  grand  jubilee  on  the  4th,  for  by 
that  time  it  would  have  succeeded  in  laying  a  maga 
zine  under  their  works,  and  setting  it  off  would  have 
raised  their  ideas. 

On  the  evening  of  the  3rd  of  July,  our  forces  again 
came  upon  Johnston's  army  entrenched  at  Smyrna 
Church,  five  miles  from  Marietta,  and  forming  our 
lines  so  as  to  confront  his  position,  lay  here  until 
after  the  4th. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th,  Johnston  had  fall  en  back 
to  another  line  of  entrenchments  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Ghattahoochie,  our  lines  advancing  as  usual  until 
they  came  upon  him.  We  were  now  in  sight  of  the 
Gate  City,  its  steeples  and  spires  appearing  in  the  dis 
tance.  For  the  first  time  we  beheld  the  object  of  our 
toils  and  marches,  every  heart  rejoicing  to  behold  the 
doomed  Atlanta.  General  Sherman  was  not  content, 
however,  until  every  vestige  of  the  Confederate  army 
was  upon  the  south  side  of  the  Chattahoochie.  Ac 
cordingly,  he  ordered  his  "flanking  machine,"  under 
command  of  General  Schofield,  to  cross  the  river  and 
operate  on  the  enemy's  flank. 

General  Schofield  crossed  the  Chattahoochie  on  the 
7th  of  July,  compelling  an  evacuation  of  the  enemy's 
works  on  the  9th,  their  whole  force  crossing  to  the 
Atlanta  side  of  the  river  and  burning  the  bridge  after 
them ;  and  thus,  on  the  morning  of  the  10th,  Sher 
man's  army  held  undisputed  possession  of  the  right 
bank  of  the  Chattahoochie  ;  one  of  the  chief  objects 
of  his  campaign  was  gained,  and  Atlanta  lay  before 
him  only  eight  miles  distant.  It  was  too  important, a 
place  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  to  be  left  undisturbed, 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  61 

with  its  magazines,  stores,  arsenals,  work  shops,  foun- 
deries  and  converging  railways.  But  the  army  had 
worked  hard  and  needed  rest.  Therefore  it  was  put 
in  camp  in  favorable  positions  along  the  Chattahoochie, 
General  Davis'  division  of.  Palmer's  corps  camping 
near  the  railroad  and  wagon  bridge  across  the  river. 
"While  we  were  encamped  at  this  place,  the  adventure 
some  boys  would  go  near  the  banks  of  the  river  and 
gather  blackberries,  notwithstanding  the  continuous 
lire  of  the  rebel  pickets  on  the  opposite  side,  there 
being  scarcely  a  soldier  who  would  not  risk  his  life 
for  a  blackberry. 

The  3rd  brigade  remained  in  this  camp  just  eight 
da}Ts,  when  on  the  18th,  it  crossed  the  Chattahoochie 
river  at  Paice's  ferry  several  miles  above  our  camp, 
the  other  two  brigades  having  preceded  it  on  the 
same  route. 

After  crossing  the  river,  the  division  advanced  cau 
tiously  in  line  of  battle,  preparatory  for  any  emer 
gency.  The  advance  was  made  over  woody  and 
uneven  ground,  although  not  to  say  very  broken. 
Shortly  before  night,  the  command  took  up  a  position 
on  favorable  ground,  the  front  lines  building  rail 
breastworks.  During  the  night,  there  was  some 
skirmish  firing  in  our  immediate  front,  though  it  was 
not  sufficient  to  prevent  the  boys  from  gathering 
blackberries,  which  had  to  be  had,  Johnnies  or  no 
Johnnies. 

On  the  morning  of  the  19th,  at  ten  o'clock  A.  M., 
the  division  was  again  put  on  the  move,  going  further 
to  the  right  and  front.  It  halted  a  short  time  at 
Peach  Tree  creek  until  a  crossing  could  be  made 
over  it.  The  Eighty-sixth  and  One  Hundred  and 
Twenty-fifth  Illinois  were  the  last  of  the  3rd  brigade 
to  cross  over  this  creek,  the  other  regiments  having 
made  the  passage  and  engaged  the  enemy  in  battle 


62  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

J 

beyond  the  crest  of  the  hills  bordering  on  this  stream, 
finding  them  almost  an  overmatch.  At  this  juncture, 
Colonel  Fahnestock  was  ordered  to  hasten  his  regi 
ment  to  their  assistance,  for  the  left  of  the  line  was 
giving  ground.  In  obedience  to  orders,  the  Eighty- 
sixth  crossed  the  creek  on  a  foot  log,  being  greatly 
scattered  by  the  time  all  were  across.  The  scattered 
regiment  formed  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  on  which  oar 
skirmishers  were  engaging  the  rebels,  and  then  ad 
vanced  to  their  support.  Having  taken  up  position, 
and  thrown  up  a  light  line  of  works,  the  rebels  in 
superior  force  charged  on  our  skirmishers,  driving 
them  back  pell-mell  on  the  main  line,  which,  after  a 
desperate  struggle,  repulsed  them  with  heavy  loss. 
The  enemy  in  this  charge  came  near  flanking  the 
Eighty-sixth  out  of  its  position,  the  right  giving  back 
a  short  distance  at  first,  but  soon  resumed  it  again. 
Despite  the  disadvantage  in  numbers,  in  this  spirited 
engagement,  our  forces  maintained  their  own,  and 
when  night  carne,  good  earthworks  were  thrown  up 
in  readiness  for  any  emergency. 

The  loss  of  the  brigade  in  this  battle  was  almost  as 
great  as  was  sustained  in  the  charge  on  Kenesaw  ; 
the  regiments  on  the  skirmish  line  being  all  cut  to 
pieces,  and  half  their  number  killed  and  captured. 
Many  a  lifeless  form  was  left  unheralded  on  the  field  of 
battle,  and  the  evening  shades  of  the  ever  memorable 
19th  of  July  drew  her  mantle  of  darkness  over  a  field 
of  blood. 

The  loss  of  the  Eighty-sixth,  in  this  battle,  was 
comparatively  light,  being  ten  in  all. 

The  company  loss  was  as  follows : 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  63 

KILLED.  TVOUXDED. 

Company  D 2     Company  B 1 

B 1  kt        D 2 

H 1  "        C 1 

—  "        F 1 

Total 4  "        1 1 

Total 6 

The  next  morning  after  the  battle,  at  daylight,  a 
rebel  line  of  works  could  be  seen  about  four  hundred 
yards  in  our  front.  There  was  nothing  in  them,  how 
ever,  but  a  small  skirmish  force,  the  main  body 
having  withdrawn.  The  Eighty-sixth  kept  up  a  heavy 
skirmish  fire  on  these  works,  not  allowing  a  Johnny- 
reb  to  show  his  head  except  he  got  a  volley  of 
musketry.  Four  pieces  of  artillery  were  brought  on 
the  line  and  opened  on  these  works,  having  great 
effect  and  causing  them  to  be  evacuated.  When  a 
rebel  would  turn  his  back  to  run,  half  a  regiment 
would  salute  him,  in  its  modest  way.  This  was  fun 
for  the  boys  and  they  seemed  to  relish  it. 

On  the  21st,  a  reconnoitering  expedition  was  sent 
out  to  ascertain  the  strength  and  whereabouts  of  the 
enemy,  and  after  advancing  one  mile  and  a  half 
found  him  in  force,  strongly  intrenched,  and  then 
returned. 

There  being  now  nothing  to  confront  it,  our  division 
moved  forward  on  the  22nd,  and  passing  a  line  of  in- 
trenchments  which  were  found  evacuated,  arrived  and 
camped  within  three  or  four  miles  of  Atlanta — the 
Gate  City  of  the  South.  In  this  position,  our  brigade 
was  left  in  reserve,  the  first  time  on  the  whole  cam- 

Paign,  having,  however,  to  keep  a  regiment  on  a  hill, 
alf  a  mile  in  advance  of  the  main  line  of  works,  as 
a  lookout.  While  on  this  eminence,  the  boys  had 
some  sociable  times  with  the  Johnnies,  trading  and 
exchanging  with  them  as  long  as  agreeable,  there  being 


i; 


64  HISTORY    OF   THE    EIGHTY-SIXTH 

an  agreement  that  there  should  be  no  shooting  while 
trafficing  was  going  on. 

On  the  22nd,  the  day  on  which  General  McPherson 
was  killed,  there  was  hard  fighting  on  the  left,  Hood 
having  massed  his  forces  in  the  hope  to  crush  it,  but 
after  the  most  desperate  fighting  of  the  campaign,  his 
efforts  were  foiled,  and  he  was  compelled  to  withdraw 
with  an  overwhelming  loss.  Sherman's  report  of  a 
few  days  after,  gave  the  enemy's  loss  as  six  to  our  one. 

The  Second  Division  of  the  Fourteenth  Corps  was 
moved  from  its  position  on  the  morning  of  the  28th, 
and  marched  to  the  right.  It  was  now  that  General 
James  D.  Morgan  took  command  of  it,  General  Davis 
being  indisposed.  General  Morgan  was  ordered  to 
move  his  command  by  Turner's  ferry  and  East  Point 
and  come  in  on  the  flank  of  General  Howard's  new 
line,  so  that,  in  case  of  an  attack  it  would  catch  the 
attacking  rebel  force  in  flank  or  rear.  This  plan 
proved  abortive  by  the  sickness  of  General  Davis  and 
mistake  of  roads  by  General  Morgan,  who,  by  this 
mishap  was  greatly  delayed.  Meantime,  Hardee  and 
Lee  sallied  forth  from  Atlanta  by  the  Bell's  Ferry 
road,  and  formed  their  masses  in  the  open  fields  be 
hind  a  swell  of  ground,  and  after  some  heavy  artillery 
firing,  advanced  in  parallel  lines  against  the  Fif 
teenth  Corps,  expecting  to  catch  it  in  air ;  but 
Sherman  was  prepared  for  this  very  contingency  ;  our 
troops  were  expecting  this  attack  and  met  it  with  a 
raking  fire  of  musketry,  which  thinning  the  ranks  of 
the  enemy,  compelled  him  to  withdraw  in  confusion. 
After  this,  at  some  points,  six  or  seven  successive 
efforts  were  made  to  carry  our  works,  but  all  of  them 
proved  futile. 

Had  our  division  not  been  delayed  by  causes  be 
yond  control,  what  was  simply  a  complete  repulse  of 
the  enemv  would  have  been  a  disastrous  rout.  The 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  65 

rebel  slain  in  this  day's  fight  was  enormous.  Dead 
men  never  lay  in  greater  numbers  on  the  same  sized 
piece  of  ground.  Our  men  buried  2,840,  exclusive  of 
those  carried  off  by  their  own  men. 

Late  in  the  evening  of  the  28th,  or  rather,  early  on 
the  morning  of  the  29th,  after  a  most  fatiguing  tramp, 
our  division  reached  the  main  line.  In  the  afternoon 
of  the  29th,  the  division  advanced  the  lines  of  battle 
and  took  position  ;  and  again,  on  the  30th,  it  moved 
to  the  right  and  advancing  the  lines  took  up  position. 
On  the  31st,  it  left  its  works  and  marched  still  further 
to  the  right,  on  a  reconnoissance,  returning  to  its  works 
the  same  day.  On  this  reconnoissance  we  got  a 
fine  ducking,  having  left  our  rubbers  in  camp. 

On  the  4th  of  August,  the  division  was  again  moved 
to  the  right,  and  advancing  the  lines  at  least  one 
mile,  after  several  halts,  built  works  under  a  severe 
cannonade  from  the  enemy's  batteries.  After  some 
hard  skirmishing  and  changing  about,  the  3rd  division 
of  the  14th  Corps  relieved  General  Morgan's  com 
mand  ;  it  moved  further  to  the  right  and  front,  on  the 
12th,  relieving  a  command  of  raw  troops  of  the 
23rd  Corps. 

Here  we  found  breastworks  and  were  not  constrained 
to  labor  as  much  as  usual  on  such  occasions.  The 
command  remained  in  this  last  position  without  any 
unusual  occurrences  only  the  spirited  bombardment 
of  the  city  of  Atlanta  by  our  batteries  of  heavy  guns, 
being  kept  up  at  regular  intervals  night  and  day. 
The  skirmish  firing  was  also  kept  up  with  animation 
on  both  sides  and  along  the  entire  lines.  Now  and 
then  the  monotony  was  broken  by  a  conversation  or 
trade,  but  never  to  last  a  great  while,  the  foe  not  al 
lowing  their  men  such  liberties  when  it  could  be 
helped,  for  they  would  not  unfrequently  take  advan 
tage  of  these  occasions  to  desert. 


66  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

However,  on  the  19th  of  August,  our  brigade  was 
marched  several  miles  to  the  right,  in  support  of  the 
23rd  Corps,  as  it  was  thought  the  enemy  would  charge 
its  lines  on  that  occasion,  but  the  supposition  did  not 
prove  a  reality.  The  brigade  returned  the  same  day 
without  adventure  to  its  former  camp.  Then  again, 
on  the  succeeding  day,  the  division  was  moved  off  in 
the  same  direction  of  the  day  previous,  but  not 
stopping  so  soon  as  before.  This  time,  we  passed 
the  right  wing  of  the  army  entirely,  and  bearing  south 
east  struck  the  Atlanta  and  Montgomery  railroad  not 
far  distant  from  East  Point.  After  injuring  the  rail 
road  all  that  lay  in  its  power,  the  division  returned 
to  camp,  having  enjoyed  a  drenching  rain.  Nothing 
more  of  interest  passed  oif  except  the  hum-drum 
picket  firing,  until  the  siege  of  the  doomed  Atlanta 
was  raised. 

It  was  on  the  memorable  27th  of  August,  that 
Sherman's  entire  force  was  withdrawn  from  about  the 
beleagured  city,  and  the  whole  of  it,  except  the  20th 
Army  Corps,  which  moved  to  the  fortifications  at  the 
railroad  on  the  Chattahoochie,  marched  in  the  direction 
of  the  Macon  railway  for  the  purpose  of  severing  the 
enemy's  communications.  Early  on  the  morning  of 
the  27th,  all  the  troops  on  the  left  of  our  division 
having  changed  front  the  day  previous,  it  moved 
from  the  breastworks,  and  during  the  day  took  its 
position  on  the  new  line. 

On  the  evening  of  this  same  day,  the  Eighty-sixth 
regiment  held  its  second  anniversary.  It  had  been  the 
intention  had  not  the  movement  of  the  army  interfered, 
to  appropriate  a  part  of  the  day  for  this  purpose,  but 
as  the  regiment  was  on  the  move  all  day  it  was  under 
the  necessity  of  taking  the  night. 

Accordingly,  in  the  evening,  the  men  were  assembled 
on  the  color  line  and  the  objects  of  the  meeting  an- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  67 

nounced.  A  committee  of  three :  Major  Thomas, 
Captains  Bogardus  and  French,  were  appointed  to  draft 
resolutions. 

The  committee  having  retired,  Chaplain  Millsaps 
made  a  speech  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  when  the 
resolutions  were  called  for  and  read.  They  were 
strong  in  favor  of  the  administration  and  bitter  against 
the  copperheads.  Though  the  regiment  was  not  per 
mitted  to  vote,  it  could,  nevertheless,  express  its 
sentiments  to  its  friends,  and  in  behalf  of  the  country. 
These  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted,  there 
being  no  dissenting  voice,  and  ordered  to  be  sent  to 
the  Chicago  Tribune,  Peoria  Transcript  and  Peoria 
Mail.  Speeches  were  then  made  by  Surgeon  Hooton, 
Colonel  Dillworth,  Major  Thomas,  Captain  Bogardus 
and  others,  of  a  stirring  and  patriotic  nature.  This 
anniversary  was,  under  the  circumstances,  highly  in 
teresting  indeed,  and  all  the  surviving  members  who 
were  there,  will  be  duly  wont  to  review  it  with  feelings 
of  pride. 

When  Sherman's  army  had  withdrawn  from  the 
siege  of  Atlanta,  the  enemy  supposed  he  had  taken 
up  his  line  of  retreat  and  abandoned  the  enterprise. 
While  in  this  belief,  they  were  destined  to  have  a 
jubilant  time;  and  to  make  it  the  merrier  still,  a 
mandate  was  sent  out  to  the  country  about  for  all  to 
come  and  partake  of  the  fatted  calf.  Fair  damsels 
flocked  from  the  vicinity  about  to  partake  in  the  joy 
over  victory  ;  but  lo  !  in  the  meantime,  the  Yankees 
cut  the  Macon  railroad  so  that  the  birdies  from  the 
rural  districts  could  not  get  to  their  homes,  and  aged 
mothers  cried  in  vain  for  their  affectionate  daughters, 
wishing  the  Yankees  many  a  curse  for  interfering  in 
their  jubilee.  Ah!  their  day  of  rejoicing  had  too 
soon  turned  to  one  of  tears,  their  unhappy  city  had 
been  relieved  from  a  siege  only  to  be  captured.  0, 


68  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

the  bitter  disappointments  that  overtake  short-sighted 
man !  One  hour  he  rejoices,  the  next  he  mourns  ! 
How  varied  the  fortunes  of  war ;  to-day  the  city  is 
impenetrable,  to-morrow  it  has  fallen !  Poor,  proud 
Atlanta  reveled,  rejoiced  and  wept  the  same  day  ! 

After  the  siege  of  Atlanta  was  abandoned  it  was 
not  long  until  our  division,  under  General  J.  D.  Morgan, 
arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  Jonesboro,  about  twenty- 
two  miles  south  of  Atlanta.  At  this  place,  on  the 
1st  of  September,  and  at  five  o'clock  P.  M.,  our 
division  was  formed  for  a  charge :  the  2nd  brigade 
on  the  right,  the  3rd  brigade  in  the  centre,  and  the 
1st  brigade  on  the  left,  and  advanced  to  the  attack 
in  two  lines  of  battle.  The  Eighty-sixth  regiment  in 
this  battle  held  a  position  in  the  second  line.  The 
enemy's  works  were  handsomely  carried,  capturing  a 
greater  part  of  rebel  General  Gowan's  brigade,  in 
cluding  its  commander,  with  two  four-gun  batteries. 
This  brigade  was  among  the  choice  men  of  the  rebel 
army,  having  fought  with  a  desperation  worthy  a  better 
cause. 

This  charge  came  like  a  flash  upon  the  enemy,  who 
were  not  aware  of  our  coming  until  we  pounced 
upon  them  like  an  avalanche,  and  though  they  fought 
obstinately,  they  were  completely  conquered. 

Our  brigade  was  in  the  hottest  of  the  fight,  and 
among  the  first  troops  to  scale  the  works  and  capture 
them. 

The  loss  of  the  Eighty -sixth  Eegiment  in  this  bat 
tle  was  two  killed  and  sixteen  wounded.  The  com 
pany  loss  was  as  follows  : 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY,  .   69 

KILLED. 

Company  F 1 

1 1 

Total 2 

WOUNDED. 

Company  A 1     Company  II 5 

11        B 1  "         E 1 

D 2  "        K 1 

G- 4 

u          I 1  Total 16 

The  night  after  the  battle  of  Jonesboro  an  explo 
sion  of  a  tremendous  character  was  heard  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Atlanta,  for  the  enemy  were  evacuating  it  and 
burning  their  magazines. 

The  disheartened  and  disorganized  forces  of  the 
enemy  now  exerted  all  their  energies  to  complete  a 
successful  withdrawal,  and  save  themselves  from  utter 
annihilation.  One  wing  of  Hood's  army  fled  precip 
itately  down  the  Macon  railroad,  and  the  .other 
retreated  along  the  Augusta  road. 

Thus  was  Atlanta  evacuated  on  the  night  of  the 
1st  of  September,  after  so  long  a  period  of  time. 
Kemaining  a  few  days  in  the  vicinity  of  Jonesboro, 
the  3rd  brigade  was  put  in  charge  of  the  prisoners 
and  sent  with  them  to  Atlanta  on  the  4th.  It  kept  a 
jealous  eye  to  its  charge,  conducting  them  to  the 
desired  place  with  undue  rapidity.  The  day  was  hot 
and  water  scarce.  Many  of  the  boys  under  their 
heavy  loads  gave  out  and  laid  down  to  rest.  Eebel 
and  Yank  laid  down  together,  and  as  best  they  could 
followed  up  after  they  had  become  rested. 

The  blame  of  this  unmasterly  march  was  paid  to 
Colonel  Langley,  who  was  then  in  command  of  the 
brigade,  Colonel  Dillworth  having  been  wounded  in 
the  late  battle.  When  the  command  arrived  in 
Atlanta,  not  more  than  one-half  the  men  were  with  it, 


70  HISTORY   OF   THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

being  left  tired  and  worn  out  along  the  wayside. 
Many  of  the  prisoners  might  have  made  their  escape, 
for  all  were  huddled  and  mixed  up  in  all  manner  of 
ways. 

There  was  much  sympathy  expressed  by  the  citi 
zens  of  Atlanta  towards  these  prisoners  as  they  were 
marched  and  counter-marched  through  several  of  the 
principal  streets  of  the  city.  Weeping  and  moaning 
and  lamentation  was  the  principal  order  of  the  occa 
sion.  The  prisoners  were  finally  put  in  the  "  bull 
pen,"  and  the  brigade  permitted  to  go  into  camp. 
We  were  now  in  the  great  city  for  the  first  time,  that 
place  for  which  we  had  so  long  fought  and  labored  to 
possess.  It  had  been  much  impaired  by  the  bombard 
ment,  the  effects  of  our  heavy  guns  being  discernible 
in  various  parts.  Thus  ended  the  great  campaign 
against  Atlanta  —  the  Gate  City  of  the  South  —  after 
one  hundred  and  twenty  days  of  the  most  trying 
scenes  through  which  an  army  ever  passed.  During 
this  time  we  were  under  the  almost  continual  fire  of 
the  enemy,  amounting  to  little  else  than  an  incessant 
battle.  The  Eighty-sixth  Eegiment  was  in  eight  reg 
ular  engagements  of  the  most  desperate  and  trying 
nature.  Our  dear  comrades  were  daily  falling  around 
us  and  by  us,  but  still  we  pressed  on  and  finished  the 
work  in  which  they  were  so  ardently  enlisted. 

At  the  fall  of  Atlanta  the  hopes  of  the  nation  re 
vived  and  the  cause  of  the  Union  was  materially  aided. 
The  great  anaconda  of  secession  was  palsied  and  made 
to  fade !  A  new-born  nation  rejoiced  in  the  begin 
ning  dawn  of  peace  and  liberty !  The  heart  of  a 
free,  loyal  people  was  made  to  leap  for  joy  ! 

There  were  many  thrilling  and  exciting  incidents 
connected  with  this  campaign,  among  which  we  will 
narrate  the  one  respecting  Captain  Jo.  Major.  In  the 
charge  on  Kenesaw,  on  the  27th  of  June,  while  only 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  71 

a  few  feet  from  the  enemy's  works,  Captain  Major 
was  struck  in  the  breast  with  a  stone  thrown  by  a 
rebel,  which  knocked  him  senseless  for  a  time,  and 
during  this  state  the  lines  had  fallen  back,  leaving 
him  alone  among  the  dead  and  dying.  Kegaining 
himself,  by  and  by  he  ascertained  his  condition,  but 
determining  not  to  be  a  prisoner,  he  resolved  to  play 
the  dying  man.  He  lay,'  therefore,  in  a  seemingly 
helpless  state,  closing  his  eyes  and  gasping  as  if  the 
next  breath  was  to  be  his  last.  Finally,  a  rebel  came  to 
where  he  lay,  and  took  his  sword  and  other  valuables. 
The  dying  man  made  signs  for  water,  and  the  rebel 
held  a  canteen  to  his  mouth,  but,  poor  man  !  he  could 
not  drink.  After  this,  other  rebels  from  their  works 
shot  at  him,  but  he  did  not  budge,  and  believing  him 
really  in  the  throes  of  death,  they  did  not  bother  him 
any  more.  The  day  was  extremely  hot ;  it  was  one  of 
those  warm  summer  days  peculiar  to  the  South.  He 
lay  on  his  back  in  the  burning  sun — an  impossible 
thing  under  other  circumstances.  Flies  and  ants 
swarmed  his  face,  and  bit  and  stung  him,  but  he 
dared  not  move. 

He  was  kept  in  this  position  from  9  o'clock  A.  M. 
until  after  dark ;  but  night  coming  on,  he  took  leg- 
bail  for  our  works,  reaching  them  without  further 
adventure.  He  came  to  his  company  hatless,  sword- 
less,  moneyless,  but  sound  as  ever  —  the  same  old  Jo. 


72  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 


CHAPTER   VI. 

TO   THE    REAR. 

The  casualties  of  the  Eighty-sixth  Regiment,  on 
the  long  and  arduous  campaign  against  Atlanta,  was 
one  hundred  and  seventy -nine  men  in  killed,  wounded 
and  missing. 

Besides  this  number,  there  were  many  who  were 
taken  sick  and  sent  back  to  hospitals.  Thus,  when 
the  campaign  had  ended,  the  regiment  was  materially 
reduced  in  numbers.  It  was  now  not  much  larger 
than  two  full  companies ;  and  then,  the  companies 
themselves  were  mere  skeletons,  some  of  them  not 
exceeding  a  corporal's  squad.  These  were  certainly 
trying  times  with  the  soldiers,  being  attended  with 
constant  hardships,  privations  and  adventures,  from 
the  beginning  of  the  campaign  to  its  end.  But  still, 
those  who  did  pass  the  fiery  ordeal,  stood  up  to  it 
like  men,  with  fine  spirits  and  light  hearts,  doing  all 
that  men  could  do. 

After  some  changing  abo.ut,  the  brigade  took  up 
permanent  quarters  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city  on  the 
south-west  side  near  the  railroad.  The  regiment  now 
fixed  up  its  camp  in  a  substantial  manner,  and  for  a 
long  time  took  the  military  world  easy,  spending  most 
of  its  time  in  going  to  and  from  the  city  in  pursuit  of 
pleasure,  and  such. 

There  was  not  a  little  trading  going  on  about  this 
time  with  those  who  had  a  disposition  that  way ;  in 
fact,  it  seemed  that  Sherman's  whole  army  had  been 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  73 

suddenly   metamorphosed   into   tobacco  traders  and 
other  kinds  of  merchants. 

Atlanta  was  overstocked  with  tobacco,  held  by  pri 
vate  individuals,  which  was  bought  by  the  soldiers  at 
low  rates  and  peddled  out  with  handsome  profits. 
Thus  passed  the  time  right  briskly,  all  seeming  to 
have  forgotten  the  past  and  to  be  living  for  the  present 
only. 

Shortly  after  the  occupation  of  Atlanta,  General 
Sherman  ordered  all  non-combatants  to  leave  the  city, 
going  north  or  south  as  their  inclinations  and  inter 
ests  might  lead  them.  This  order  fell  on  the  ears  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Atlanta  like  a  thunderbolt. 
Though  they  had  lent  all  the  moral  and  physical 
assistance  in  their  power  to  the  cause  of  the  rebellion, 
they  had  begun  to  dream  of  the  advent  of  the  Fede 
ral  troops  as  the  commencement  of  an  era  of  quiet. 
They  had  never  imagined  the  war  would  reach  At 
lanta,  Now  that  it  had  come,  and  kept  its  rough,  hot 
hand  upon  them  for  so  many  days,  they  were  begin 
ning  to  look  forward  to  a  long  period  when  they  might 
enjoy  at  once  the  advantages  of  the  protection  of  a 
just  and  powerful  government,  and  the  luxuries  it 
would  thus  afford  them.  It  was  indeed  a  pitiful  sight 
to  see  these  reluctant  people  leave  their  homes  and 
property,  but  such  was  the  necessity  in  the  case  that 
it  must  be  done. 

Such  are  the  cruel  mandates  of  war,  and  they  were 
obliged  to  abide  its  consequences,  having  waged  and 
maintained  it. 

About  the  middle  of  September  there  was  an 
armistice  of  some  days  to  provide  an  exit  south  for 
these  unfortunate  people,  and  for  the  exchange  of 
prisoners  captured  in  the  last  campaign. 

General  James  D.  Morgan's  division  remained  in 
Atlanta  at  its  ease  until  the  29th  of  September,  when 
7 


•74  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

it  boarded  the  cars  and  was  transported,  via  Chatta 
nooga  and  Huntsville,  to  near  Athens,  Alabama. 
From  this  place  it  was  sent  on  an  expedition  against 
General  Forrest,  who  had  been  making  demonstra 
tions  on  our  railroads,  having  destroyed  much  of  the 
Nashville  and  Decatur  road. 

When  the  division  arrived  at  Athens,  Forrest  was 
crossing  the  Tennessee  at  Florence,  retreating  out  of 
our  way  as  fast  as  possible.  With  rapid  marches  Gen 
eral  Morgan  reached  Florence  in  two  days,  distant 
from  Athens  about  forty-five  miles.  The  creeks  and 
rivers  on  the  route  were  swollen,  but  he  never  stopped 
for  them,  for  wading  through,  we  went  plodding  on. 
The  division  arrived  within  a  few  miles  of  Florence 
on  the  evening  of  the  5th  of  October,  and  entered  it 
on  the  6th  without  opposition,  the  enemy  having  com 
pleted  his  crossing.  The  division  could  follow  no 
further,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  began  its 
return  march,  arriving  back  in  Athens  on  the  12th, 
where  it  boarded  the  cars  on  its  return  to  Chattanoo 
ga.  The  command  arrived  at  Chattanooga  in  the 
night  of  the  14th,  and  went  into  camp  where  there 
was  neither  wood  nor  water.  The  march  from  Ath 
ens  to  Florence  and  back  again  was,  under  the  cir 
cumstances,  probably  the  severest  the  Eighty-sixth 
Kegiment  ever  made;  at  least,  it  stands  among  the 
hardest.  The  rains  fell  in  torrents,  but  notwithstand 
ing,  the  command  was  rushed  headlong  on  through 
the  mad  waters  of  Flint  and  Duck  rivers,  in  many 
places  up  to  the  soldier's  armpits. 

While  the  division  remained  in  Chattanooga  there 
was  a  deal  of  excitement  and  uncertainty  respecting 
the  movements  of  rebel  General  Hood,  who  was  mak 
ing  a  demonstration  on  our  rear,  the  command  being 
in  readiness  to  march  at  a  moment's  notice. 

General    Sherman,    however,    soon    changed    his 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  75 

course,  so  that  Hood  was  obliged  to  take  a  circuitous 
route  to  the  west  and  north.  To  follow  Hood  indefi 
nitely,  without  much  prospect  of  overtaking  and 
overwhelming  his  army,  would  be  for  Sherman  equiv 
alent  to  being  decoyed  out  of  Georgia.  To  remain 
on  the  defensive,  on  the  other  hand,  would  be  to  lose 
the  main  effectiveness  of  his  army.  Sherman  had 
previously  proposed  to  General  Grant  to  destroy  the 
railway  from  Atlanta  to  Chattanooga,  and  strike  out 
through  Georgia. 

"  By  attempting  to  hold  the  roads,"  he  wrote,  "  we 
will  lose  a  thousand  men  monthly,  and  will  gain  no 
result."  And  again,  "  Hood  may  turn  into  Tennessee 
and  Kentucky,  but  I  believe  he  will  be  forced  to  fol 
low  me.  Instead  of  being  on  the  defensive  I  would 
be  on  the  offensive.  Instead  of  guessing  at  what  he 
means,  he  would  have  to  guess  at  rny  plans.  I  prefer 
to  march  through  Georgia,  smashing  things,  to  the 
sea."  And  again,  "When  you  hear  I  am  off,  have 
lookouts  at  Morris'  Island,'  S.  C. ;  Ossabaw  Sound, 
Georgia ;  Pensacola  and  Mobile  bays.  I  will  turn  up 
somewhere,  and  believe  me  I  can  take  Macon,  Mil- 
ledgeville,  Augusta,  and  Savannah,  Georgia,  and  wind 
up  with  closing  the  neck  back  of  Charleston,  so  that 
they  will  starve  out.  This  movement  is  not  purely 
military  or  strategic,  but  it  will  illustrate  the  vulnera 
bility  of  the  South." 

General  Grant  promptly  authorized  the  proposed 
movement,  indicating,  however,  his  preference  for 
Savannah  as  the  objective,  and  fixing  Dal  ton  as  the 
northern  limit  for  the  destruction  of  the  railway. 
Preparations  were  immediately  made  for  the  execution 
of  these  plans. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  18th,  General  Morgan 
marched  his  division  to  rejoin  the  Army  of  the  Cum 
berland,  which  at  this  time  lay  in  reserve  at  Gales- 


76  HISTORY   OF   THE    EIGHTY-SIXTH 

ville,  Alabama,  taking  with  him  a  large  drove  of 
cattle  for  army  consumption.  The  division  reached 
the  army  and  joined  its  corps  at"  11  A.  M.  on  the 
22nd. 

Sherman  had  issued  orders  for  his  army  to  subsist 
off  the  country,  which  it  did  with  a  good  will,  fora 
gers  being  sent  out  from  the  different  commands  daily. 
The  country  round  Galesville  was  wild  and  romantic, 
affording  that  beautiful  scenery  so  peculiar  to  north 
ern  Georgia  and  Alabama. 

The  army  was  soon  again  put  on  the  move,  part  of 
it  going  with  General  Thomas,  and  the  remainder,  the 
14th,  20th,  15th  and  17th  Corps,  going  with  Sherman 
down  the  railway  towards  Atlanta. 

Morgan's  division  marched  to  Kome,  where  it  re 
mained  a  few  days,  after  which  it  continued  on  to 
Kingston,  where  it  arrived  on  the  1st  of  November. 
At  Kingston  the  army  received  eight  months  pay, 
and  a  partial  supply  of  clothing,  having  to  wait  until 
it  arrived  at  Atlanta  before  a  complete  supply  would 
be  issued. 

While  at  Kingston,  it  will  be  remembered,  the 
Eighty-sixth  Regiment  camped  on  a  piece  of  ground 
covered  with  all  manner  of  stones,  from  the  minutest 
pebble  to  those,  that  were  large  enough  to  make  an 
uneven  bed.  Again,  on  the  8th  of  the  month,  the 
division  marched  on,  passing  through  the  ruined  Cass- 
ville  on  to  Cartersville,  where  it  halted  a  few  days,  at 
one  time  going  to  guard  the  railroad,  which  did  not 
last  long  enough  to  make  it  pay. 

Cartersville  is  noted  for  the  most  remarkable  of  the 
monumental  remains  in  the  United  States.  They 
are  situated  upon  the  right  bank  of  the  Etowah  river 
near  the  railroad,  some  two  miles  south  of  the  town, 
in  the  midst  of  a  perfectly  level  alluvial  bottom,  tow 
ering  above  all  surrounding  objects,  changeless  amid 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  77 

the  revolutions  of  centuries.  On  good  testimony  it 
has  been  urged  that  these  mounds  were  built  by  a  race 
of  people  preceding  the  Indian  race.  Who  they  were, 
and  how  great  that  population  was,  cannot  now  be 
determined.  No  historian  has  left  the  record  of  their 
manners,  government  and  laws ;  no  voice  save  that 
silent  speaking  testimony  of  these  monuments,  pro 
claims  their  past  greatness.  No  reply  is  heard  in 
definite  response  by  those  who  knock  at  their  tombs. 
The  morning  the  Eighty-sixth  left  this  place,  Billy 
Longfellow  issued  rations  on  the  summit  of  one  of 
these  mounds,  and  the  regiment  stacked  arms  along 
the  road  near  them. 

On  Jhe  morning  of  the  13th,  the  2nd  division  of  the 
14th  Corps  was  set  in  motion  from  Cartersville  toward 
Atlanta,  destroying  the  railway,  founderies,  mills, 
etc.,  on  its  route.  In  not  a  few  instances  private 
dwellings  and  private  property  were  laid  desolate. 
Previous  to  this,  General  Sherman  had  directed  all 
surplus  artillery,  all  baggage  not  needed  for  the  con 
templated  march,  all  the  sick  and  wounded,  refugees 
and  other  encumbrances,  to  be  sent  back  to  Chatta 
nooga.  Oa  its  march  to  Atlanta  the  division  passed 
over  much  of  the  old  campaign  ground,  which  had 
lost  none  of  its  familiarity,  seeming  a^  if  there  had 
been  no  lapse  of  time. 

The  Kenesaw  was  natural,  and  the  dreadful  battle 
field  of  the  27th  of  June,  where  so  many  of  our  slain 
comrades  lie  buried,  and  whose  graves  were  yet  fresh, 
had  undergone  no  change  except  that  the  leaves  had 
ripened  and  fallen  to  the  ground.  Even  as  the  leaves 
wither  and  fall,  so  must  man,  and  we  were  made  sad 
in  contemplating  the  fearful,  bloody  past. 

The  division  crossed  the  Chattahoochie  river  in  the 
forenoon  of  the  15th,  and  arrived  in-  Atlanta  in  time 
to  draw  clothing,  provisions,  etc.,  preparatory  to  the 


78  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

uncertain  actions  of  the  morrow.  Atlanta  on  this 
occasion  seemed  to  be  swallowed  up  in  flames. 
Bright,  lurid  lights  were  seen  springing  up  in  every 
quarter.  It  seemed  that  the  once  proud  and  defiant 
city  was  bidding  earth  farewell !  "  But  what  is  now 
to  be  done  ?"  every  one  asks.  "Has  Sherman  gone 
crazy,  sure  enough  ?  "  Thus  people  talked,  the  coun 
try  over.  They  could  not  tell  what  Sherman  was  up 
to  now.  He  moved  out  from  Atlanta  on  the  16th  of 
November  into  the  darkness  and  wilderness  of  Dixie, 
leaving  the  good  folks  at  home  to  wonder  where 
Sherman  had  gone.  But  several  weeks  elapsed 
before  the  secret  was  divulged  —  before  the  lost  hero 
rose  up  in  the  magic  of  his  might  on  the  great  sea 
board. 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  79 


CHAPTEE   VII. 

TO   THE   SEA. 

With  this  chapter  begins  the  narrative  of  the  great 
raid  through  Georgia  down  to  the  sea.  Now  was  be 
gun  a  military  feat  which  when  accomplished  aston 
ished  the  world,  and  proved  false  the  maxim  laid  down 
by  military  geniuses  of  every  notoriety  and  age,  that 
no  army  could  subsist  any  length  of  time  without  a 
permanent  base  of  supplies.  The  undertaking  of  a 
raid  of  so  great  magnitude  and  daring  was  an  act 
bearing  the  tint  of  insanity  and  reckless  daring  be 
yond  the  comprehension  of  learned  critics  and  wire- 
cutters. 

For  the  purpose  of  this  great  march,  Sherman  had 
divided  his  army  into  two  wings ;  the  right  commanded 
by  Major  General  Oliver  0.  Howard,  comprising  the 
15th  and  17th  Corps ;  the  left  under  Major  General 
Henry  W.  Slocum,  comprising  the  14th  and  20th 
Corps.  The  14th  Corps,  to  which  the  Eighty-sixth 
Illinois  belonged,  was  composed  of  three  divisions, 
led  by  Brigadier  Generals  William  P.  Carlin,  James 
D.  Morgan  and  Absalom  Baird.  The  3rd  brigade  of 
General  Morgan's  division,  to  which  the  Eighty-sixth 
regiment  more  immediately  belonged,  was  commanded . 
on  this  great  raid  by  Colonel  Langley,  of  the  125th 
Illinois. 

About  12  M,  on  the  16th  of  November,  1864,  Gen 
eral  Morgan's  command  led  out  from  Atlanta  along 
the  Augusta  and  Atlanta  railroad,  following  and 


80  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH    1 

destroying  it  as  far  as  Covington ;  here  the  division 
left  it.  marching  through  Shady  Dale,  near  Edenton 
Factory,  directly  on  to  Milledgeville,  the  capital  of  the 
State,  where  it  arrived  late  in  the  evening  of  the  22nd. 
Our  march  to  the  capital  of  Georgia  was  one  of  pleas 
ure  and  plenty ;  plenty  sat  smiling  on  every  hand, 
tauntingly  inviting  the  Yankee  boys  on.  The  Eighty- 
sixth  was  now  in  the  height  of  its  glory,  making  itself 
free  in  every  man's  potato  patch,  poultry  yard  and 
smoke  house,  thus  assuring  the  inhabitants  of  its  sin 
cere  regard  and  thankfulness  for  their  unswerving 
devotion  as  enemies.  Thus  the  command  passed 
merrily  on  in  its  wild  paroxysms  of  frantic  joy,  living 
as  sumptuously  as  kings  are  wont  to  live  in  their  mar 
ble  palaces  and  wanton  luxuries.  Time  did  not  drag 
heavily  with  us,  nor  did  the  ghost  of  hunger  haunt  us 
in  our  dreams.  We  laid  down  at  night  on  a  bed  of 
pine  boughs  with  as  much  composure  as  if  feathers 
had  been  at  our  command.  We  dared  famine  to  look 
us  in  the  face,  and  treated  discontent  with  contempt. 

The  commonest  produce  of  the  country  so  far  was 
sweet  potatoes  or  yams,  and  negro  beans.  These  veg 
etables,  with  all  kinds  of  meat,  afforded  high  living, 
and  in  a  plentiful  manner.  The  boys  were  never 
under  the  necessity  of  carrying  much  provisions  with 
them;  in  fact,  they  scarcely  ever  carried  any  in  these 
parts,  for  when  the  column  stopped  for  meals  they 
would  climb  the  fence  for  sweet  potatoes,  and  shoot  a 
shoat  for  meat.  About  half  an  hour  before  the 
troops  went  into  camp,  firing  might  be  heard  in  every 
direction  about  the  column,  being  caused  by  the  boys 
shooting  porkers  and  such,  for  their  supper. 

There  was  a  great  caravan  of  negroes  hanging  on 
the  rear  of  our  column  when  it  arrived  in  Milledge 
ville,  like  a  sable  cloud  in  the  sky  before  a  thunder 
storm  or  tornado.  They  thought  it  was  freedom  now 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.       81 

or  never,  and  would  follow  whether  or  no.  It  was 
really  a  ludicrous  sight  to  see  them  trudging  on  after 
the  army  in  promiscuous  style  and  divers  manner. 
Some  in  buggies  of  the  most  costly  and  glittering 
manufacture ;  some  on  horseback,  the  horses  old  and 
blind,  and  others  on  foot ;  all  following  up  in  right 
jolly  mood,  bound  for  the  Elysium  of  ease  and 
freedom.  Let  those  who  choose  to  curse  the  negro 
curse  him  ;  but  one  thing  is  true,  despite  the  un worth 
iness  they  bear  on  many  minds,  that  they  were  the 
only  friends  on  whom  we  could  rely  for  the  sacred 
truth  in  the  sunny  land  of  Dixie.  What  they  said 
might  be  relied  on  so  far  as  they  knew ;  and  one  thing 
more,  they  knew  more  and  could  tell  more  than  most 
of  the  poor  white  population.  Milledgeville  was 
occupied  by  our  forces  without  the  slightest  opposition 
on  the  part  of  the  enemy,  there  being  no  enemy  of 
material  consequence  to  contend  with,  all  having  gone 
to  Nashville,  there  to  get  a  complete  drubbing. 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th  our  division  marched 
through  Milledgeville,  and  passing  on  through  Sanders- 
ville,  crossed  the  Ogechee  river  and  Eocky  Comfort 
creek  into  Louisville,  a  county  seat  town,  where  it 
remained  several  days  to  let  the  right  wing  of  the 
army  come  up  on  a  line.  Milledgeville  is  beautifully 
situated  in  the  paradise  portion  of  Georgia,  the  coun 
try  around  being  rich,  and  on  the  whole,  level  and 
fertile.  The  city  itself  is  laid  off  with  much  good 
taste,  the  streets  being  wide  and  handsome,  and  the 
buildings  sparsely  built  along  them.  The  private 
dwellings,  for  the  most  part,  were  framework,  not 
costly  and  extravagant,  but  constructed  in  plain  and 
wholesome  style.  The  State  House,  however,  was 
especially  grand  in  its  design  and  material.  On  leav 
ing  this  place  our  forces  destroyed  many  of  the  pub 
lic  buildings.  The  Oconee  river,  which  flows  along 


82  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

the  east  side  of  the  capitol,  is  a  narrow,  deep  stream, 
and  very  handsome.  Over  it  was  a  good  wagon 
bridge,  left  unhurt  by  the  rebel  fugitives.  While 
crossing  this  bridge  all  pack  animals  over  one  to  a 
company,  were  taken  and  appropriated  to  other  use, 
for  "By  general  order  only  one  was  allowed  to  a  com 
pany,  but  in  spite  of  orders  the  boys  would  cling  to 
their  mules,  one  company  having  sometimes  several 
span.  These  creatures  were  a  great  help  to  us  in 
carrying  our  heavy  plunder.  On  the  march  from 
Milledgeville  to  Sandersville  the  command  was  for 
the  first  time  molested  seriously  by  the  cavalry  of  the 
enemy.  About  these  times  they  captured  many  of 
our  foragers,  nineteen  of  whom  it  was  said  were  hung 
on  the  spot. 

The  day  on  which  the  command  entered  Sanders- 
ville  it  had  its  first  encounter  with  the  enemy's  cav 
alry,  under  rebel  General  Wheeler,  which  had  gotten 
in  our  front  and  attempted  to  arrest  our  progress. 

But  there  was  no  halting  on  Wheeler's  account,  for 
our  troops  made  their  way  on,  he  and  his  getting  out 
of  the  way.  While  the  division  was  at  Sandersville 
it  gave  the  country  around  a  healthy  forage.  A  cer 
tain  wealthy  planter  living  near  had  five  or  six  score 
of  French  or  Spanish  negroes,  with  a  dwarfish  stature 
and  a  gabble  like  so  many  geese.  This  planter  lived 
in  Savannah  in  high  life,  as  most  wealthy  planters  do. 
His  possessions  would  seem  changed  when  next  he 
saw  them ;  his  cotton  and  out-houses,  his  presses  and 
gins  were  burned  up,  his  productions  taken  and  plan 
tation  gleaned  ;  but  he  is  not  alone  in  his  misery,  his 
neighbors  are  as  bad  off  as  himself. 

It  was  amusing  to  see  the  slouchy  negroes  obey  the 
soldiers'  orders,  for  they  had  to  be  obeyed.  Twenty 
or  thirty  of  them  would  run  after  the  same  chicken, 
heading  and  tripping  each  other  as  they  went.  These, 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  83 

like  all  negroes,  were  delighted  to  see  the  Yankees 
waltz  in  and  make  old  massa  "shell  out."  They 
would  point  out  where  things  were  concealed,  and 
then  !  Oh,  then !  take  a  regular  nigger  laugh  when 
the  Yanks  "went  in."  However,  about  noon  on  the 
28th,  the  command  having  left  Sandersville,  arrived 
on  the  west  bank  of  Rocky  Comfort  creek.  The 
bridge  over  this  stream  being  burnt,  it  was  obliged  to 
wait  till  late  in  the  evening  before  a  crossing  could  be 
effected  into  Louisville,  where  it  went  into  camp  one 
mile  east  of  the  town. 

At  this  camp,  on  the  evening  of  the  29th,  Colonel 
Fahnestock  took  his  regiment  on  picket,  and  on  the 
next  day  fought  a  force  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  which 
was  making  a  demonstration  on  our  lines  in  several 
places,  keeping  the  pickets  on  the  maneuver  most  of 
the  day. 

At  the  first  alarm  of  the  enemy  on  the  lines  of  the 
Eighty-sixth,  the  Colonel  ordered  his  men  to  advance 
to  a  line  two  hundred  yards  to  his  front  and  throw  up 
a  line  of  barricades  for  protection. 

While  this  was  being  done  a  constant  fire  was  kept 
up  on  the  rebels,  whose  course  was  soon  turned,  being 
compelled  to  withdraw  in  confusion  across  a  large 
cornfield.  When  they  reached  the  farther  side  of  this 
field  they  formed  their  lines,  and  also  threw  up  a  line 
of  barricades  which  they  held  until  late  in  the  after 
noon,  when  the  regiment  charged  them  away  and  took 
possession,  and  following  them  up  for  more  than  a 
mile,  returned.  Though  the  casualties  of  the  regi 
ment  in  this  day's  skirmish  were  not  great,  the  excite 
ment,  nevertheless,  ran  high.  Its  loss  was  four  missing 
or  captured.  The  company  loss  was  as  follows :  Co. 
A,  two ;  Co.  F,  one  ;  Co.  K,  one. 

The  foragers  from  our  division  on  this  occasion  were 
made  to  suffer  severely.  The  enemy  came  upon  them 


84  HISTORY   OF   THE    EIGHTY-SIXTH 

so  suddenly  that  they  were  unable  to  get  back  to  the 
lines;  not  a  few  of  them  were  killed  and  captured, 
and  many  of  them,  being  overbalanced  with  wines, 
were  shot  in  cold  blood. 

On  the  first  of  December,  the  division  moved  from 
Louisville  in  the  direction  of  Millen,  and  crossing  on 
its  route,  Big,  Dry  and  Spring  creeks,  camped  a  short 
distance  to  the  east  of  the  latter.  It  had  the  corps 
train  in  charge,  while  the  other  two  divisions  moved 
on  the  right  and  left  to  protect  it. 

The  next  day  a  deflection  was  made  in  the  line  of 
march  of  our  division,  caused  by  the  change  of 
direction  of  the  20th  Corps,  its  course  being  turned 
northward,  crossing  Buckhead  and  Rocky  creeks,  on 
pontoons  laid  for  that  purpose,  and  camping  on  the 
night  of  the  3rd  at  Lumpkin's  on  the  railroad.  On 
the  next  day  Carlin's  and  Morgan's  divisions,  with 
the  three  corps  trains,  after  destroying  three  miles  of 
railway,  moved  in  the  direction  of  Jacksonboro,  and 
camped  thirteen  miles  beyond  Lumpkin's  Station.  On 
this  same  day,  Baird  and  Kilpatrick,  after  some  fight 
ing  with  Wheeler's  cavalry,  drove  the  enemy  from 
Waynesboro  and  across  Brier  creek. 

The  march  was  continued  on  the  morning  of  the 
5th,  passing  through  Jacksonboro  into  the  north 
eastern  edge  of  Efnngham  county,  thence  down  the 
Savannah  river,  arriving  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city  of 
Savannah  on  the  llth  of  December. 

Many  new  and  exciting  incidents  occurred  on  the 
march  from  Louisville  to  Savannah.  Larger  caravans 
of  negroes  than  before  followed  our  war-path,  fre 
quently  being  cut  off  by  the  enemy's  cavalry,  but  by 
circuitous  routes  and  much  hard  marching,  would 
make  their  appearance  again. 

There  was  at  once  a  laughable  and  pitiful  sight 
occurred  respecting  these  poor  unfortunates,  while  the 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  85 

command  was  crossing  the  country  in  the  vicinity  of 
-  Buckhead  and  Eocky  creeks.  As  soon  as  the  troops 
crossed  these  streams  the  pontoons  were  taken  up  and 
the  Africans  left  behind.  This,  however,  did  not 
have  the  effect  to  discourage  them,  for,  after  wan 
dering  up  and  down  the  banks  for  a  time,  in  mad 
excitement,  some  sturdy  fellow  among  the  rest,  ven 
tured  in  and  swam  across.  This  was  a  signal  for  the 
rest,  who  followed  like  sheep  in  a  drove.  Many  of  the 
women,  with  the  darling  calamity  of  their  bosom  in 
their  arms,  were  washed  under  by  the  swift  current  to 


rise  no  more. 


_The   inhabitants   of  Georgia,  on'  this    unexpected 
raid  through  their  country,  used  many  devices  in  the 
effort  to  hide  their  household  affairs,  horses,  mules, 
wagons  and  all  kinds  of  provisions  from  the  invading 
Yankee   army,    but   to    no   material   purpose.      The 
foragers  would  first  go  to  the  houses  and  inquire  of 
the  families  where  they  kept  their  provisions,  horses, 
mules  and  such,   the  answer   invariably   being   that 
"  we  'ens  have  none,  are  poor  people,"  etc.     The  boys 
could  not  be  fooled  out  of  a  good  thing  by  such  talk 
as  that,  but  proceeded  immediately  to  an  investigation 
of  the  matter^    Drawing  the  rammers  from  their  guns 
they   would   insert   them    in   the   ground    at    every 
suspicious  place  where  fresh  dirt  might  be   seen,    and 
if  they   should  strike  anything  hard  with  them,  the 
process  of  digging  would'  be  the  next   thing   on  the 
programme,  and  behold  !  various  things  of  consecutive 
k  nds  would   appear,  probably  the  whole  contents  of 
a  smoke-house  or  dwelling.    'The  soldier,  making  this 
d  scovery,  would  take  of  the  treasure  what  he  wanted, 
and  teH  the  next  fellow  he  met,  who,   after  satisfying 
his  desires  would  do  unto  another  as  he  was  done  by, 
fulfilling  the  moral  rules.     In  this  manner,  the  whole 


86  HISTORY   OF   THE    EIGHTY-SIXTH 

treasure  would  soon  be  absorbed  in  an  arithmetical 
decreasing  progression. 

While  some  soldiers  were  pursuing  this  plan  for 
finding  things,  others  were  pursuing  other  plans. 
Calling  a  negro,  they  would  inquire  where  his  massa 
or  missus  had  hid  their  mules,  the  reply  being, 
"I  don't  know,  massa."  "But  you  do  know,  you 
black  rascal,  now  out  with  it,  or  you  '11  hear  a  dead 
nigger  fall,"  at  the  same  time  presenting  a  gun.  It 
works  like  a  charm,  the  negro  begs  and  agrees  to 
tell.  A  Yankee  can't  be  foiled,  for  he  has  more  ways 
than  a  centipede  has  legs. 

No  sooner  had  our  army  reached  the  Savannah 
river  than  many  of  the  foragers  crossed  it  into  South 
Carolina,  on  large  flat-boats  which  they  captured 
going  down  the  .river  towards  Savannah  laden  with 
the  choicest  treasures.  There  was  also  a  small  stern- 
wheel  gun-boat  plying  along  the  river  above  Savannah, 
watching  the  movements  of  our  forces,  which  General 
Morgan  allowed  his  foragers  would  gobble  before  his 
command  reached  Savannah. 

In  going  down  the  Savannah  river,  the  division 
passed  near  old  Ebenezer  church  which  was  built  in 
1739,  nearly  one  hundred  and  twenty -seven  years 
ago.  It  is  the  remains  of  the  oldest  church  in  the 
United  States,  and  bears  with  it  much  of  historical 
interest. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  9th  of  December,  when 
our  column  was  within  fourteen  miles  of  Savannah, 
our  passage  was  disputed  by  a  rebel  battery  planted 
at  the  crossing  of  two  roads. 

Two  regiments  of  our  brigade,  the  Eighty-sixth 
and  125th  Illinois,  were  deployed  as  skirmishers,  with 
orders  to  advance  until  they  found  the  enemy's  works. 
By  the  time  these  orders  were  executed,  night  'drew 
on,  and  under  its  cover  the  rebels  retreated.  This 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  87 

battery  was  captured,  however,  having  mistaken  the 
roads  and  running  into  other  of  our  forces. 

The  Eighty-sixth  regiment,  in  this  skirmish,  lost 
two  men  wounded.  One  from  Company  A,  the  other 
from  H. 

After  the  skirmish,  our  division  marched  to  the 
Ten-mile  House  and  went  into  camp,  giving  the  road 
to  the  20th  Corps. 

The  next  day,  the  command  moved  on  to  within 
three  or  four  miles  of  Savannah,  taking  up  position 
around  it.  The  siege  of  this  place  may  be  said  to 
have  begun  on  the  llth  of  December. 

The  forces  under  rebel  General  Hardee  in  the  works 
around  Savannah  numbered  about  fifteen  thousand 
men. 

The  face  of  the  country  in  this  vicinity,  was  level 
and  swampy,  so  that  a  large  force  well  handled  would 
make  a  formidable  resistance. 

Our  works  were  built  close  up  to  the  enemy's,  and 
constant  skirmishing  went  on. 

On  the  13th,  two  days  after  the  siege  began,  the  2nd 
division  of  the  15th  Corps,  charged  on  Fort  McAllis 
ter  and  took  it.  This  gained  us  communication  with 
our  fleet,  and  a  short  time  after  we  eat  hard  tack 
from  the  great  sea. 

During  the  siege,  the  Eighty-sixth  did  not  go  on 
the  front  lines,  but  remained  in  camp  in  the  rear, 
spending  most  of  its  time  pounding  rice  or  seeing  it 
well  done  by  the  natives. 

In  the  siege  of  Savannah,  the  20th  Corps  held  the 
left  of  our  lines,  resting  on  the  Savannah  river  ;  the 
14th  Corps  was  on  its  right;  the  17th  Corps  next, 
and  the  15th  Corps  on  the  extreme  right,  with  its 
flank  resting  on  the  Gulf  railway,  at  station  No.  1. 
The  army  remained  in  this  position  until  the  21st, 
ten  days  from  the  commencement  of  the  siege.  In 
the  meantime  there  was  a  deal  of  foraging  done,  as 


HISTORY   OF   THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

the  country  began  to  fail  to  supply  the  demands  made 
upon  it. 

The  last  few  days  of  the  siege,  the  foragers  were 
compelled  to  go  a  long  distance  to  the  rear  in  order  to 
procure  the  necessary  quota  of  rice,  for  this  was 
eminently  a  rice  country.  The  soldiers  always  had 
regular  meals  of  rice  and  pork  for  breakfast,  pork 
and  rice  for  dinner,  and  vice  versa  for  supper. 

Up  the  Savannah  river  from  the  city  of  Savannah, 
and  bordering  on  it  upon  either  bank,  were  large  and 
flourishing  rice  plantations,  cultivated  by  great  num 
bers  of  negroes  of  every  hue  of  the  skin  and  brogue 
of  the  tongue,  some  of  them  direct  from  Liberia, 
some  from  New  Guinea,  and  others  from  the  swamps 
of  Florida.  It  was  amusing  to  see  the  soldiers  act 
the  place  of  master  and  overseer  over  these  deplorable 
creatures.  One  soldier  would  crowd  together  thirty 
or  forty  of  them,  and  march  around  them  at  right- 
shoulder-shift  arms,  keeping  them  at  work  pounding 
rice  with  mortar  and  pestle.  Great  ricks  of  this 
precious  produce,  in  every  way  resembling  oats,  were 
stacked  on  each  plantation,  and  from  ten  to  twenty 
thousand  bushels  in  a  single  stackyard.  Our  army 
made  use  of  it  in  various  ways,  much  of  it  being 
threshed  and  hulled,  and  then  used  by  the  soldiers, 
but  a  greater  part  fed  to  mules. 

Thus,  things  passed  merrily  on,  until  the  memora 
ble  21st  of  December,  when  our  forces  marched 
proudly  into  the  "  Forest  City,"  Hardee  having 
evacuated  it  on  the  night  of  the  20th.  Now,  the 
whole  army  went  into  camp  in  and  about  it,  being 
once  more  in  communication  with  the  outer  world. 

Here  ends  the  great  raid  to  the  sea. 

Immediately  after  the  capture  of  Savannah,  General 
Sherman  sent  the  following  brief  note  to  President 
Lincoln :  "  I  beg  to  present  you,  as  a  Christmas  gift, 
the  city  of  Savannah,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  89 

heavy  guns  and    plenty   of    ammunition,    and   also 
about  twenty-five  thousand  bales  of  cotton." 

On  this  raid,  the  army  marched  over  three  hundred 
miles  directly  through  the  heart  of  Georgia,  living  off 
the  best  of  the  land.  No  less  than  ten  thousand  negroes 
left  the  plantations  of  their  former  masters  and  accom 
panied  the  army  when  it  reached  Savannah,  without 
taking  note  of  thousands  more  who  were  left  along 
the  line  of  inarch.  Over  twenty  thousand  bales 
of  cotton  were  burned,  besides  twenty-five  thousand 
captured  at  Savannah.  Thirteen  thousand  head  of 
beef  cattle,  nine  million  five  hundred  thousand  pounds 
of  corn,  and  ten  million  five  hundred  thousand  of 
fodder,  were  taken  from  the  country  and  issued  to  the 
men  and  animals. 

Besides  the  history  of  this  great  raid,  there  are 
many  other  historical  incidents  connected  with  this 
portion  of  the  country.  Savannah  itself  was  the  first 
settlement  in  the  State,  being  laid  off  in  the  year 
1733.  It  was  here  where  the  great  John  Wesley  first 
officiated  as  minister.  And  it  was  the  scene  of  many 
revolutionary  incidents ;  where  General  Lincoln  fought 
the  British  in  October,  1779  ;  where  Pulaski  fell,  and 
where  Nathaniel  Greene  lies  buried. 

Savannah  is  located  in  a  low,  level  country,  sur 
rounded  by  almost  impassable  swamps  of  a  very 
unhealthy  nature.  It  has  a  canal  running  into  it  from 
the  Ogechee,  and  three  railroads  radiating  from  it ; 
and  from  its  beautiful  shade  trees,  it  is  appropriately- 
called  the  "  Forest  City." 

Oar  great  raid  through  Georgia,  the  Queen  State  of 
the  Confederacy,  was  practically  unobstructed  by  the 
enemy.  True,  they  attempted  to  arrest  our  progress, 
but  without  the  slightest  success.  Some  of  Wheeler's 
men,  would,  at  times,  make  a  stand  behind  an  in- 
trenchment  and  contest  our  advance.  Our  skirmishers 
would  push  forward,  reinforced  by  the  reserve,  a 


90  HISTOEY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

charge  would  be  sounded  by  the  bugle,  a  rash  fol 
low  —  and  amid  the  rattle  of  musketry  and  report  of 
field  pieces,  the  ground  would  be  swept  over  by  our 
boys,  the  works  carried,  and  enemy  routed.  These 
little  fights  resulted  in  no  check  to  our  advancing 
columns.  The  head  of  the  column  would  halt  to  let 
the  rear  close  up,  and  before  that  was  done,  the 
advance  guard  would  have  cleared  the  way,  and  the 
column  again  set  in  motion. 

Such  too,  was  the  case  when  fallen  trees  or  de 
stroyed  bridges  obstructed  the  road.  The  pioneers 
had  usually  cleared  away  the  impediments  before  the 
column  had  closed  up,  and  no  stoppage  on  this  account 
was  experienced.  Notwithstanding  thi  s  arduous  march 
down  to  the  great  sea,  the  soldiers  were  not  in  the 
least  dispirited.  They  wanted  for  nothing  to  eat  or 
wear,  and  it  seemed  to  them  more  of  a  gala  day  than 
one  of  fatigue. 

Before  closing  this  chapter,  we  will  give  a  summary 
of  events  from  the  time  we  left  Lee  and  Gordon's 
Mills  until  the  close  of  the  year  1864. 

The  total  casualties  of  the  Eighty-sixth  Illinois, 
during  this  time,  the  most  eventful  period  of  its 
history,  were : 

Recruits 16 

Transferred  by  promotion 1 

1 '            to    other  regiments 26 

Discharged 9 

Ordinary  deaths 7 

Killed  in  action 45 

Missing 25 

Deserted 6 

Wounded  in  action 113 

tl          accidental 8 

Died  of  wounds 10 

Surrendered  from  desertion 1 

Aggregate 267 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  91 

The  beginning  of  186-4  found  us  near  Chattanooga 
with  an  army  nearly  equal  to  our  own  to  contend 
with  ;  the  end  of  it  found  us  in  Savannah,  snugly 
encamped  near  the  great  sea.  The  whole  year  had 
been  resplendent  with  victory.  Atlanta  and  Milledge- 
ville  and  Savannah  had  fallen,  and  the  anaconda  of 
Yankee  vengeance  had  almost  extinguished  the  lights 
of  rebellion.  Success  seemed  mixed  with  doubt 
when  the  year  began  ;  when  it  closed,  bright  and 
buoyant  was  the  hope  of  our  armies  on  land  and 
sea. 

Sherman  had  pushed  from  the  mountain  districts 
of  the  north  to  the  level  lowlands  of  the  south,-  no 
army  having  ever  met  with  more  signal  success  than  his. 
No  difficulties  had  been  more  successfully  overcome, 
at  any  time  or  age,  than  by  his  exultant  army.  With 
determined  zeal  and  firm  tread  it  marched  from  one 
victory  to  another. 

If  it  failed  in  driving  the  enemy  at  one  or  two  or 
three  trials,  it  was  still  fearless  and  determined.  And 
he  was  a  brave  and  mighty  man  who  led  this  army 
through  so  many  perils  to  lasting  fame  and  achieve 
ments.  It  had  been  on  an  active  campaign  for  eight 
long  months,  digging  in  the  dirt  and  marching  like 
the  wind. 


92  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

J 


CHAPTEE    VIII. 

RAID   THROUGH   SOUTH   CAROLINA  —  BATTLES   OF 
AVERYSBORO   AND   BENTONVILLE. 

At  Savannah,  General  Sherman  received  instruc 
tions  from  the  Lieutenant  General  to  embark  his  army 
on  transports,  and  hasten  to  the  James  river,  to  partici 
pate  in  the  final  destruction  of  the  main  army  of  the 
rebellion.  However,  upon  Sherman's  earnest  repre 
sentation  of  the  difficulty  of  moving  sixty  thousand 
infantry,  and  ten  thousand  cavalry,  with  their  clue 
allowance  of  artillery,  so  great  a  distance  by  water, 
and  on  assurance  that  he  could  place  his  army  at  the 
desired  place  sooner,  in  better  condition,  and  with  more 
injury  to  the  enemy,  General  Grant  consented  to  this 
modification,  and  gave  the  necessary  orders.  A  divis 
ion  was  drawn  from  General  Sheridan's  army  of  the 
Shenandoah,  and  sent  to  Savannah  as  a  garrison. 
This  enabled  Sherman  to  take  with  him  the  entire 
army  with  which  he  made  the  raid  through  Georgia. 
He  determined  to  make  the  distance  between  Savan 
nah  and  Goldsboro  at  one  stride.  Some  time  was 
consumed  in  preparation,  and  by  the  15th  of  Janu 
ary,  1365,  all  was  ready  and  the  movement  began. 

On  the  20th  of  this  month,  the  2nd  division  of  the 
14th  Corps,  still  under  the  command  of  James  D. 
Morgan,  moved  out  from  Savannah  eight  miles  in  a 
north-western  direction,  camping  near  Tuly's  Station, 
where  the  command  lay  wind-bound  for  four  days. 

Just  a  short  time  prior  to  this  move  from  Savannah, 
General  Feering  was  placed  in  command  of  the  3rd 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  93 

brigade,  under  General  Morgan,  thus  relieving  Colonel 
Langley  of  that  command. 

General  Feering  remained  with  his  brigade,  much 
beloved  by  all,  until  the  battle  of  Bentonville,  K  C., 
where  he  was  wounded,  being  so  disabled  that  he  never 
afterwards  resumed  command  of  it.  On  the  morning 
of  the  25th,  at  seven  A.  M.,  the  command  resumed  its 
march  from  Tuly's  Station,  the  14th  Corps  with  Geary's 
division  of  the  20th,  and  Corse's  division  of  the  15th 
Corps,  marched  up  the  west  bank  of  the  Savannah  to 
Sister's  ferry,  where  they  crossed  over  to  the  South 
Carolina  side,  on  the  5th  of  February,  having  been 
detained  one  week  on  account  of  high  water  at  this 
ferry. 

On  the  8th,  the  division  again  cut.  loose  from  com 
munications,  marching  up  the  Savannah  to  a  point 
opposite  Barnwell,  where  it  left  the  river  road  and 
going  to  Barnwell,  crossed  the  Salkahatchie  river  on 
its  route.  From  Barnwell  it  took  a  northern  course, 
striking  the  Augusta  and  Charleston  railway  at  a  small 
place  known  as  Williston,  thence,  continuing  north, 
crossed  the  South  and  North  Edisto  rivers,  and  going 
within  one  and  a  half  miles  of  Columbia,  was  headed 
off  by  other  troops,  being  compelled  to  move  back  up 
the  Saluda  river,  some  eight  miles  from  Columbia, 
where,  on  the  26th,  it  crossed  it  on  a  pontoon  bridge, 
and  thence  marching  north-east,  round  Columbia, 
crossed  Broad  river  at  Fursell's  Ferry,  some  twenty 
miles  nearly  north  of  Columbia,  Our  division  was 
ferried  over  this  stream,  as  there  were  not  enough 
pontoon  boats  to  complete  a  bridge.  Crossing  the  river 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  18th,  it  went  into  camp,  build 
ing  breastworks  for  a  protection  to  our  supply  train, 
as  it  was  reported  that  Hood  was  also  crossing  the  river 
above  us. 

Before  going  into  camp,  the  eighty-sixth  sent  out  a 


94  HISTORY   OF    THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

detail  of  foragers,  under  charge  of  Captain  Hall,  of 
Company  H,  to  scour  the  rich  country  beyond  the 
Broad  river,  meeting  with  more  than  ordinary  success. 
This  party  had  a  skirmish  with  a  squad  of  the  ene 
my's  videttes,  driving  them  pell-mell. 

As  the  army  remained  here  a  few  days,  we  will 
review  the  most  interesting  events  of  the  march  up  to 
this  period. 

The  general  features  of  the  country  over  which  the 
division  passed,  was  that  of  a  hilly,  undulating  plain, 
becoming  more  hilly  and  broken  the  farther  north  it 
went,  until  these  undulations  had  gradually  assumed 
the  proportions  of  high  hills.  The  country  south  of 
the  North  Edisto  river,  in  Carolina,  is  far  richer  in  its 
soil  and  yields  a  better  crop  than  that  north  of  this 
river. 

The  plantations,  too,  are  larger,  and  lie  more  in  a 
body  than  in  other  parts  of  the  State  over  which  we 
passed  ;  and  it  is  a  curious  fact,  often  remarked,  that 
that  there  is  no  rock  or  gravel  here.  The  soil  is  sel 
dom  black,  but  usually  a  yellow  clay  of  a  spongy 
texture.  North  of  the  North  Edisto  river,  the  coun 
try  begins  to  assume  a  stony  and  gravely  appearance, 
and  rises  in  ridges  of  hills  until  it  becomes  very 
broken  indeed.  There  is  a  peculiarity  in  the  soil  of 
this  part  of  the  country  which  deserves  remark.  It 
is  this :  fields  are  sometimes  seen  covered  over  with 
a  white  sand,  frequently  an  inch,  and  sometimes  more, 
in  depth.  Off  at  a  distance,  a  person  unaccustomed 
to  this  peculiarity,  would  mistake  this  sand  for  a  sheet 
of  water.  All  soldiers  are  aware  of  this  fact  who 
have  passed  this  portion  of  the  country.  There  are 
places  again  where  the  sand  seems  to  have  been  drifted 
like  snow  over  the  surface  of  a  plain,  and  as  much  as 
as  one  thing  can  resemble  another,  these  drifts  resem 
ble  snow,  of  a  pure  white  color. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  95 

The  swamps  in  this  State  are  very  different  from 
those  of  Georgia.  They  are  not  so  difficult  to  travel 
through,  and  not  near  as  numerous  and  large.^  In 
many  of  them,  rice  is  extensively  cultivated,  and  is  far 
superior  in  quality  to  that  raised  on  high  lands. 

So  far,  the  State  furnished  us  an  abundance  of  for 
age  of  every  kind,  and  the  very  best. 
°The  boys   lived  sumptuously  on  flour,  molasses, 
cured  hams  and  many  other  of  the  staunch  things  of 
life — never'  fared  better. 

They  always  ate  to  satiety,  and  quit  with  plenty 
left.  From  the  very  first  they  treated  South  Caro 
lina  as  her  acts  of  treason  and  atrocity  deserved. 
Nearly  every  house  all  over  the  country  was  fed  on 
the  flames  of  Yankee  vengeance.  When  their  houses 
were  burnt,  the  proud  chivalry  were  obliged  to  seek 
refuge  in  negro  shanties — an  awful  condescension,  but 
scores  of  them  ha  ye  had  their  pride  thus  broken. 

To  some,  it  may  have  seemed  relentless  barbarism 
to  burn  and  devastate  a  country  in  the  manner  in 
which  Carolina  was  served,  but  when  they  remember 
she  was  the  main  actor  in  the  rebellion,  fired  the  first 
gun,  and  led  her  sister  States  into  a  fratricidal  war, 
and,  moreover,  prided  herself  in  such  acts  of  inhu 
manity,  who  then  can  pity  her,  or  sympathize  with 
her  ?  She  dared  not  ask  sympathy,  for  multitudes  of 
slain  patriots  answered,  No  sympathy  for  the  veno 
mous  Carolina  !  There  was  no  time  in  the  day  when 
looking  around  you  there  might  not  be  seen  liquid 
flames  of  fire  lifting  themselves  in  mad  waves  above 
the  beautiful  mansion,  gin  or  fences ;  and  even  the  hills 
and  valleys  for  miles  around  were  blue  with  smoke. 

These  were  truly  the  smoky  days  of  Carolina! 
Such  was  the  inveterate  hatred  our  troops  entertained 
towards  this  State,  and  such  the  freedom  allowed,  that 
seldom  the  least  of  things  were  spared.  If  there  was 


96  HISTORY  OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

more  forage  than  was  needed  for  army  consumption, 
the  dancing  flames  of  Yankee  vengeance  eat  it  up. 

This  portion  of  South  Carolina  was  not  thickly  set 
tled,  owing  to  single  persons  owning  very  large  tracts 
of  land.  On  nearly  all  of  these  extensive  plantations 
there  was  usually  two  fine  dwellings  :  one  for  the  lord, 
the  other  for  the  overseer.  Round  the  overseer's 
dwelling  there  was  a  large  number  of  negro  shanties, 
frequently  from  ten  to  fifty,  somewhat  resembling  a 
town.  The  lord's  residence  was  invariably  fixed  off  in 
gay  colors,  with  its  handsome  yards,  out- buildings  to 
break  the  summer's  sun,  with  high  walls  inclosing  a 
square  for  hounds,  besides  many  other  things.  Then 
inside  the  dwelling  itself  were  tfre  costliest  and.  most 
beautiful  decorations  imaginable.  The  richest  Turkey 
carpet  covered  the  floor  ;  the  finest  sofas,  chairs,  tables, 
and  other  decorations  filled  the  rooms,  and  a  large 
and  extensive  library  was  invariably  to  be  found. 
But  these  gay  ornaments  vanished  before  the  "  vandal 
Yanks,"  as  the  dew-drops  before  the  rising  sun. 

The  scenery  from  the  high  hills  that  border  on  the 
western  bank  of  the  Broad  river,  is  grand  in  the  ex 
treme.  Excepting  that  in  the  vicinity  of  Chattanooga, 
it  surpasses  anything  of  the  kind  that  ever  came  under 
our  observation.  Looking  eastward,  you  see  the  rail 
road  and  river  winding  their  snake-like  course  along 
the  high  and  hilly  plain.  And  from  the  same  view, 
as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  one  vast  plain,  undulating 
and  broken,  spreads  itself  before  you,  diversified 
with  a  green  forest  of  pine,  and  fields  covered  with 
pure  white  sand,  resembling  high  drifts  of  snow. 
Then  around  you,  in  whatever  point  of  compass  you 
should  chance  to  look,  thick  volumes  of  smoke  might 
be  seen  rising  out  of  the  valleys,  over  the  tops 
of  intervening  hills,  presenting  a  picturesque  and 
novel  scene. 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  97 

Columbia,  the  capital  of  South  Carolina,  some 
twenty  miles  south  of  our  position  on  Broad  river, 
was  captured  on  the  17th  of  February,  by  the  right 
wing  of  the  army,  under  General  Howard,  the  mayor 
making  a  formal  surrender  of  the  place  to  Colonel 
Stone,  commander  of  a  brigade  of  the  loth  Corps. 
This  brigade  was  the  first  organized  body  to  enter  it 
The  city  was  fired  by  Wade  Hampton's  men  before 
they  left  it,  and  nearly  destroyed,  notwithstanding  the 
effort  made  by  our  troops  to  save  it  While  our  divis 
ion  remained  on  the  east  side  of  the  Broad  river,  it 
was  engaged,  for  a  time,  in  destroying  the  Spartans- 
burg  railway.  It  was  a  poor  excuse  for  a  road,  the 
iron  being  old  and  worn  out 

From  Broad  river,  our  column  took  up  the  line  of 
march  at  six  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  February 
20th,  moving  in  a  north-eastern  direction,  crossing 
Little  river,  and  striking  the  Charlotte  and  Columbia 
railway  at  White  Oak  Station,  four  miles  north  of 
Winnsboro ;  thence  marching  up  the  railway  some 
six  miles,  crossed  it  at  Blackstakes,  and  marching 
east,  camped  at  twelve  M.  on  the  22nd,  giving  the 
road  to  the  20th  Corps. 

The  march  was  resumed  at  eight  A.  M.,  on  the  23rd, 
camping  at  night  near  Rocky  Mount,  on  the  Catawba 
river,  in  the  north-eastern  corner  of  Fairfield  district 
On  the  24th,  the  Eighty-sixth  Illinois  was  moved  for 
ward  several  miles,  and  camped  on  Rocky  Mount, 
where  it  remained  four  days.  The  14th  Corps  having 
crossed  the  Catawba  river  by  the  28th,  resumed 
the  march.  General  Morgan's  division  now  led  the 
advance  of  the  corps,  and  marching  in  a  north-east 
ern  course,  crossed  Flat,  and  the  two  Lyncher  creeks, 
and  passing  through  Hickory  Head  on  its  route, 
arrived  on  the  Great  Pedee,  at  a  point  eight  miles 
above  Cheraw,  where  it  laid  a  pontoon  bridge,  and 
crossed  over  on  the  7th  of  March, 
9 


98  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

From  the  Great  Pedee,  the  line  of  march  was  taken 
up  in  a  direct  course  for  Fayetteville,  where  the  com 
mand  arrived  on  the  llth  of  March. 

The  country  between  the  Broad  and  Catawba 
rivers  is  very  broken  indeed.  One  ridge  of  hills 
closely  succeeds  another,  and  they  are  high  and  steep. 
The  scenery  here  is  exceedingly  wild  and  romantic. 
There  has  been  a  romance  written  of  this  part  of  the 
State,  of  the  era  of  the  Ke volution,  called  the  Black 
Eiders  of  the  Congaree,  which  was  interesting  to  read 
while  we  were  also  acting  a  great  drama  there.  This 
was  also  the  campaign  grounds  in  the  times  of  the  Rev 
olution.  Rocky  Mount,  Camden,  Sander's  Creek  and 
Hanging  Rock  are  places  of  Revolutionary  fame. 

A  great  deal  of  trouble  was  experienced  in  com 
pleting  a  pontoon  bridge  across  the  Catawba,  on  ac 
count  of  heavy  rains  and  high  waters.  By  the  time 
it  would  be  nearly  done  the  swift  current  would  sweep 
it  away.  It  was  in  consequence  of  this  detention  that 
General  Sherman  sent  orders  to  General  Davis,  in  case 
he  could  not  get  the  pontoon  bridge  to  hold  by  the 
morning  of  the  28th,  to  burn  his  trains,  swim  his 
mules,  ferry  his  men  and  come  on.  But  as  good  luck 
would  have  it,  the  bridge  was  finally  made  to  stick, 
and  on  the  28th  everything  was  landed  safely  on  the 
other  side. 

About  midnight  on  the  27th,  Colonel  Fahnestock 
blew  his  whistle  ior  the  regiment  to  fall  in  and  cross 
the  river.  The  winds  blew  and  the  rains  fell,  but  for 
all  that  the  Eighty-sixth  had  to  crawl  out  of  its  dry 
tents,  do  them  up  and  go ;  and  when  it  reached  the 
pontoon  it  was  not  yet  done,  causing  us  to  lay  round 
enjoying  the  benefit  of  the  rain  till  morning.  The 
Eighty-sixth  about  this  time  thought  it  would  get  a 
permanent  detail  as  train  guards,  get  to  ride  and  such  ; 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  99 

but  like  many  other  of  its  hopes  and  plans,  it  was  all 
"in  a  horn." 

On  the  march  from  the  Catawba  there  was  a  deal  of 
corduroying  to  be  done  on  the  muddy  roads,  and  by 
the  time  our  long  trains  had  passed  over  they  were 
far  worse  than  ever.  Our  corps  train  consisted  of 
more  than  six  hundred  wagons,  and  when  stretched 
out  on  the  same  road,  as  was  very  often  the  case,  it 
would  string  out  from  six  to  seven  miles,  making  bad 
roads  for,  the  rearmost  wagons.  General  Davis  was 
surprised  at  the  rapidity  with  whieh  General  Morgan 
moved  his  command  from  the  Catawba  to  the  Great 
Pedee,  and  complimented  him  for  it.  General  Mor 
gan  was,  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  a  go-ahead  man  ; 
he  was  so  kind  and  careful  with  his  men  that  they 
would  speak  of  him  altogether  by  the  sobriquet  of 
"Uncle  Jimmy  Morgan."  He  was  odd  and  peculiar 
in  his  manner ;  he  stood  in  a  position  inclining  for 
ward,  and  when  he  walked  he  held  his  hands  behind 
him,  his  eyes  striking  the  ground  at  an  angle  of  forty  - 
five  degrees.  In  conversation  with  others,  he  walked 
rapidly  backwards  and  forwards  as  if  in  great  mental 
excitement,  doubtless,  as  Artemus  Ward  would  say, 
"  a  way  he  has."  He  was  plain  and  unostentatious 
in  his  dress,  wearing  a  soldier's  blouse,  a  soldier's  hat, 
and  soldier's  shoes,  being  a  private  soldier  out  and  out, 
the  only  distinction  consisting  in  the  little  star  upon 
either  shoulder  —  the  insignia  of  his  rank. 

Those  who  did  not  know  him  would  wonder  what 
soldier  that  was  using  so  much  authority.  General 
Morgan  was  not  only  common  to  and  among  his  men, 
but,  better  than  all,  he  was  careful  with  them,  and 
Y allied  their  lives  as  much  as  his  own,  never  com 
manding  them  to  go  where  he  would  not  accompany 
them.  Whenever  there  was  a  battle  pending,  you 
would  see  him  on  the  skirmish  line  dodging  round  and 


100     .  HISTORY   OF   THE    EIGHTY-SIXTH 

looking  about  for  himself;  and  when  there  was  great 
danger,  he  would  ,tell  his  boys  to  be  very  careful  and 
not  get  hurt,  seeming  really  to  love  them.  Before  the 
General  entered  the  service  he  was  said  to  have  been 
a  pork  packer,  though  there  was  another  report  that 
he  was  a  Methodist  preacher.  These  reports  were 
often  the  source  of  amusing  incidents.  Frequently 
on  our  long  marches  the  boys  would  become  tired 
and  worn  out,  wanting  to  go  into  camp.  By  and  by 
Uncle  Jimmy  would  come  along  while  they  were  in 
this  mood,  when  some  mischievous  fellow  would  cry 
out  —  not  to  the  General,  but  that  he  might  hear  it: 

u  I'll  be  d d  if  I  sell  Uncle  Jimmy  my  hogs  if  he. 

don't  camp  pretty  soon/'  This  strikes  the  nail  on  the 
head ;  the  General  laughs  and  goes  ahead,  jerking  the 
reins  as  usual.  Uncle  Jimmy  was  certainly  a  man  of 
the  finest  feelings  and  respect  for  others,  and  possessed 
a  true,  brave  and  loyal  heart. 

In  his  order  to  his  command,  announcing  the  cap 
ture  of  Richmond,  he  said :  "  Let  every  true  and 
loyal  heart  rejoice." 

There  was  a  marked  peculiarity  in  the  country  be 
tween  the  Catawba  and  Pedee,  consisting  in  a  great 
many  rocks  scattered  here  and  there  of  an  enormous 
size  and  peculiar  shape.  They  were  from  eight  to 
twelve  feet  in  height,  of  an  oval  form,  and  covered 
with  a  thick  green  moss. 

These  curious  rocks  excited  the  wonder  of  all.  On 
one  we  saw  there  was  a  spring,  with  its  bright  waters 
trickling  over  its  sides  so  beautiful  and  wonderful,  and 
known  as  Hanging  Eock  of  historic  fame. 

The  country  between  the  Great  Pedee  and  Cape 
Fear  rivers  is  one  vast,  extensive  pine  forest  In  this 
section  there  are  but  few  plantations,  and  they  are 
small.  The  general  features  are  level,  and  the  undu 
lations,  if  any,  are  slight.  Out  of  these  forests,  the 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER  >lrfFANTRYi  \      ^401,'    \ 


* 


inhabitants  manufacture  turpentine,  rosin  and  tar  in 
great  quantities.  They  hew  the  bark  from  two  sides 
of  the  tree,  and  near  its  roots  cut  a  niche  to  receive 
the  juice  that  does  not  gum  on  its  sides.  On  nearly 
every  stream  there  is  a  factory  for  the  making  of  tur 
pentine,  rosin  and  tar.  On  our  passage  through,  these 
factories  were  full,  and  when  burning,  made  a  huge  fire 
and  smoke,  far  surpassing  in  grandeur  anything  of 
the  kind  we  ever  saw,  or  ever  expect  to  see. 
Among  the, curiosities  of  our  march,  the  burning  of 
these  factories  was  the  most  curious.  Just  imagine 
one  hundred  barrels  of  rosin  and  as  many  of  turpen 
tine  and  tar  to  be  thrown  together  and  ignited.  It 
is  impossible  for  a  person  who  has  not  witnessed 
such  a  scene,  to  form  a  proper  idea  of  the  real 
grandeur  ^  and  sublimity  of  these  dense  volumes  of 
black,  agitated  smoke,  brightened  betimes  with  lofty 
flames  of  liquid  fire,  that  seem  to  lift  themselves  in 
the  fury  of  their  madness  to  the  very  skies. 

When  our  column  was  within  twenty-four  miles  of 
Fayetteville,  General  Kilpatrick,  who  was  several 
miles  to  the  left  of  our  division,  was  surprised  by  the 
enemy  and  routed,  though  he  afterwards  rallied  his 
men  and  regained  his  camp. 

The  army  now  entered  Fayetteville  without  further 
opposition,  remaining  from  the  llth  of  March  until 
the  15th.  During  its  stay  several  small  steamers 
came  up  from  Wilmington,  bringing  provisions  and 
mail. 

The  left  wing  of  the  army  remained  at  Fayetteville 
the  short  space  of  four  days,  when  it  led  out  on  the 
main  road  to  Raleigh,  which  follows  the  right  bank  of 
the  Cape  Fear  river  some  sixteen  miles  or  more,  and 
branching  at  Averysboro. 

The  supply  train  of  the  14th  Corps  was  left  behind 
in  charge  of  the  3rd  division,  to  intercept  us  by  a 


I  IQ2  HLSTO&Y  OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

c     »"  o  •%  y        '     v          '"    "v°  V  •' \  • 

nearer  route  whenever  provisions  enough  arrived  at 
Fayetteville  to  load  it. 

On  the  morning  of  the  16th  the  left  wing  moved 
from  its  camp  of  the  night  previous  and  discovered 
the  enemy  with  artillery,  infantry  and  cavalry,  in  an 
entrenched  position  in  front  of  the  point  where  the 
road  branches  off  towards  Groldsboro  through  Benton- 
ville.  Hardee,  in  retreating  from  Fayetteville,  had 
halted  in  the  narrow  swamp  neck  between  Cape  Fear 
and  South  rivers,  in  the  hope  of  holding  Sherman 
there,  in  order  to  save  time  for  the  concentration  of 
Johnston's  army  at  some  point  in  his  rear.  Hardee's 
force  was  estimated  at  twenty  thousand  men.  It  was 
necessary  to  dislodge  him,  that  our  army  might  have 
the  use  of  the  Goldsboro  road,  as  also  to  keep  up  the 
feint  on  Kaleigh  as  long  as  possible.  Slocum  there 
fore  advanced  on  his  position,  only  difficult  by  reason 
of  the  nature  of  the  ground,  which  was  so  soft  that 
horses  and  men  would  sink  everywhere  and  could 
scarcely  make  their  way  at  all.  The  20th  Corps  led 
the  advance  of  Slocuni's  column,  the  14th  Corps  fol 
lowing  with  Kilpatrick's  cavalry  in  the  entire  advance. 

The  20th  Corps,  upon  finding  the  enemy,  drove 
him  from  his  first  line  of  works,  and  advancing,  took 
position  confronting  his  second  line,  which  was  more 
formidable  than  the  first.  *  Then  the  14th  Corps  took 
position  on  the  left  of  the  20th  Corps,  our  division 
being  on  the  extreme  left  of  the  line,  with  _  its  left 
resting  on  the  Cape  Fear  river.  The  whole  line  now 
advanced  late  in  the  afternoon,  drove  the  enemy  well 
within  his  works,  and  pressed  him  so  hard  that  he 
retreated  during  the  night  in  a  hard  storm  over  the 
worst  of  roads.  From  this  position  Hardee  retreated 
on  Smithfield. 

No  member  of  the  Eighty-sixth  will  forget  with 
what  difficulty  it  got  its  position  in  this  battle,  having 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  103 

to  wade  through  creeks  and  swamps  up  to  one's  arm 
pits.  There  was  no  chance  to  make  a  deflection  to  the 
right  or  left  to  shun  a  quagmire,  right  ahead  being  the 
only  chance.  The  Eighty-sixth  skirmishers  in  this 
engagement  experienced  a  hard  time ;  but  the  main 
body  of  the  regiment  was  not  brought  into  action. 

The  loss  of  the  regiment  was  two  killed  and  three 
wounded.  The  killed  were  Captain  John  F.  French, 
of  Co.  K,  and  Eileigh  George,  of  Co.  F.  Captain 
French  was  a  brave  and  accomplished  officer,  and  be 
loved  by  all  the  regiment.  Co.  K  lost  two  wounded, 
and  Co.  C  one. 

As  soon  as  Hardee  was  known  to  have  retreated, 
our  forces  were  again  put  on  the  move,  taking  the 
road  leading  to  the  right,  built  a  bridge  across  the 
swollen  South  river,  and  marched  on  the  Golds- 
boro  road. 

Our  wounded  were  taken  with  us  from  the  battle 
field  of  Averysboro,  and  as  there  were  not  enough 
ambulances  for  them,  some  were  loaded  in  army 
wagons.  The  march  was  continued  in  the  direction 
of  Bentonville,  over  a  country  rich  with  forage  of 
every  kind  except  molasses  —  a  luxury  we  were  not 
often  without.  Meal  and  meat  were  to  be  had  in 
abundance.  'No  wanton  destruction  of  property  was 
tolerated  in  this  section  of  the  country,  for  there  was 
too  much  loyalty  and  poverty  for  that,  and  soldiers 
are  too  magnanimous  not  to  respect  these  ;  but  where 
luxury  and  pomp  abound,  they  are  hyenas  and 
wolves. 

On  the  night  of  the  18th,  our  division  camped  on 
the  Goldsboro  road,  about  five  miles  from  Bentonville 
and  twenty-seven  from  Goldsboro,  at  a  point  where 
the  road  from  Clinton  to  Smithfield  crosses  the  Golds 
boro  road. 

General  Sherman  had   been   with   our  wing  of  the 


104  HISTORY  OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

army  up  to  this  time,  and  anticipating  no  more  oppo 
sition  in  the  occupation  of  Goldsboro,  left  General 
Slocum's  column  on  the  next  morning  to  accompany 
Howard's  advance  into  Groldsboro. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  19th,  the  14th  Corps, 
being  in  advance  of  the  20th  on  the  same  road, 
marched  directly  on  to  Bentonville.  On  arriving  at 
that  place  it  soon  discovered  the  enemy  in  force, 
strongly  intrenched  on  the  further  side  of  a  difficult 
swamp. 

The  1st  division,  driving  back  his  cavalry  and 
skirmishers,  took  a  position  on  the  left  of  the  road, 
and  the  2nd  division  to  the  right  of  the  same.^  These 
divisions  set  to  work  and  built  log  breastworks. 

As  soon  as  General  Slocum  ascertained  that  the  com 
bined  forces  of  Hoke,  Hardee  and  Cheatham,  all  under 
command  of  rebel  General  Johnston,  were  massed  in 
his  front,  he  ordered  the  two  divisions  of  the  20th 
Corps  to  form  on  the  left  of  the  14th  Corps,  at  the 
same  time  ordering  up  the  two  divisions  that  were 
back  with  the  supply  trains. 

Meantime  the  enemy  sallied  out  on  the  left  flank  of 
the  1st  division  of  the  14th  Corps,  driving  it  back  pell- 
mell,  then  pushing  forward,  struck  the  flank  and  rear 
of  the  2nd  division. 

At  this  j  uncture  our  brigade  was  moved  out  from 
the  works  on  the  double-quick  to  cover  its  left  flank. 
Before  it  got  its  lines  formed  the  rebels  were  upon  it, 
and  in  the  battle  and  confusion  that  ensued  it  was 
driven  back,  but  forming  again  it  threw  up  logs  and 
rails  for  protection,  which  it  held  against  six  or  seven 
successive  charges. 

The  giving  back  of  our  brigade  left  exposed  the 
rear  of  the  other  two  brigades.  These  brigades  were 
formed  in  two  lines,  and  were  now  attacked  furiously 
in  front  and  rear.  Therefore  the  rear  line  changed 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  105 

sides  of  its  works,  and  thus  the  advance  of  the  enemy 
was  met  from  both  ways.  These  brigades  fought 
heroically,  and  after  a  most  desperate  engagement 
came  out  victors,  severely  chastising  the  enemy,  and 
capturing  over  three  hundred  prisoners.  It  was  about 
this  stage  of  the  game  that  the  20th  Corps  was  brought 
up  to  our  assistance,  Johnston's  forces  driven  back,  and 
our  lines  mended.  Our  trains  would  certainly  have 
been  captured  had  it  not  been  for  the  timely  arrival  of 
these  fresh  troops,  for  they  were  brought  up  close  in 
the  rear  of  the  lines  of  battle,  as  there  was  no  engage 
ment  with  the  enemy  anticipated. 

Finally,  when  the  battle  began  to  rage  in  all  its 
fury,  there  arose  a  panic  among  them  far  surpassing 
what  had  happened  in  the  fight.  The  approaching 
storm  of  the  battle  seemed  to  them  to  be  against  us, 
and  the  conclusion  was,  there  was  no  safety  but  in 
flight.  Teamsters  began  to  flee  to  the  rear  with  their 
teams,  and  ambulance  drivers  with  their  ambulances. 
Each  tried  to  outrun  the  rest,  for  all  were  eager  to  be 
foremost ;  consequently,  in  the  jumble  and  excitement 
that  ensued,  no  headway  could  be  made.  In  trying 
to  head  each  other  off,  they  stuck  fast  in  the  swamp. 
The  drivers  did  not  try  to  extricate  their  vehicles,  but 
mounting  mules  fled  for  a  serener  sky. 

There  had  certainly  been  a  mixed  time  with  the 
rear  gentry  as  could  be  seen  the  next  morning.  From 
the  time  the  enem}^  made  his  first  attack  until  dark 
there  was  an  incessant  roar  of  artillery  and  musketry. 
It  was  the  days  of  Chickamauga  renewed.  Our 
artillery  did  good  execution,  and  its  deafening  roar 
was  awful  in  that  dismal  swamp. 

Night  ended  this  dreadful  battle.     It  was  fought  in 

a  low,  difficult  swamp,  with  mud  and  water  over  shoe 

mouth  in  depth,  then  it  was  densely  covered  with  a 

thick  growth  of  shrubs,  briars  and  vines,  closely  inter- 

10 


106  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

woven.     Judge  the  difficulty  of  such  a  place  during 
a  desperate  engagement. 

When  the  3rd  brigade  was  thrown  out  on  the  flank 
of  the  division,  the  Eighty-sixth  Illinois  was  met  by 
the  enemy  before  it  had  formed  its  lines,  Colonel 
Fahnestock  ordering  it  to  lie  down  and  maintain  its 
own,  which  it  succeeded  in  doing  for  about  ten 
minutes  when  the  enemy  struck  it  in  flank,  forcing  it 
back  several  hundred  yards,  where  it  formed  again 
and  threw  up  a  slight  protection  by  means  of  logs  and 
rails,  with  its  left  resting  on  the  main  road.  Here  it 
remained,  holding  its  own,  during  the  desperate 
charges  made  by  Johnston  on  our  lines. 

In  this  day's  fight,  General  Feering  was  wounded, 
and  Colonel  Langley  took  command  of  the  brigade. 
Soon  after  the  battle  had  ceased,  the  enemy  fell  back 
to  his  main  line  of  works  ;  our  forces  following  up  on 
the  20th,  and  taking  position,  built  breastworks. 

On  the  night  of  the  21st,  General  Johnston  evacu 
ated  his  intrenchments  at  this  point,  and  retreated 
with  his  main  force  on  Smithfield.  Accordingly,  on 
the  morning  of  the  22nd,  the  14th  Corps  having  no 
enemy  to  oppose  it,  marched,  and  crossing  the  Neuse 
river  on  a  pontoon,  eight  miles  above  Goldsboro, 
camped  at  that  place,  late  at  night  of  the  same  day. 
A  few  days  previous  to  this,  Generals  Schofield  and 
Terry  had  opened  a  line  of  communication  to  this 
place  from  Newbern. 

The  loss  of  the  Eighty-sixth,  in  the  battle  of 
Bentonville,  was,  in  all,  two  killed  and  twenty 
wounded. 

The  company  loss  was  as  follows  : 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  107 

KILLED.  WOUNDED. 


...  1            'l       C  

1 

"        E 

2 

Total 

2              "        G  

6 

11       H 

.    .            4 

"       I     .  . 

1 

11       K.. 

5 

Total 20 

Here  ends  the  second  great  raid. 

The  Eighty-sixth  Illinois  had  traversed  over  five 
hundred  miles,  through  all  kinds  of  weather,  country 
and  scenery,  and  had  consumed  sixty-two  days  in 
doing  it.  Crossed  no  less  than  ten  rivers,  some  of 
them  at  high  water,  and  marched  through  the  heart 
of  South  Carolina,  leaving  its  mark  behind  it.  Was 
engaged  in  several  skirmishes  and  two  battles,  and 
lost  twenty-seven  men  in  battle  and  nine  missing  on 
the  route,  making  thirty-six  in  all. 

•When  it  arrived  in  Groldsboro  it  was  fat,  ragged  and 
saucy,  having  wanted  for  nothing  but  shoes.  To  get 
refitted,  cleaned  up  and  rested,  were  treats  after  the 
first  order  of  things. 

Before  closing  this  chapter  we  will  give  an  incident 
of  the  mode  in  which  foraging  was  carried  on  during 
these  great  raids. 

On  every  day's  march,  a  detail  was  made  from  each 
company  in  our  division  to  go  in  advance  of  the  main 
column  and  forage  for  it.  These  men  might  be  seen 
stringing  out  of  camps  long  before  the  column  was 
set  in  motion,  and  were,  of  course,  the  first  to  visit 
the  plantations.  The  first  things  they  would  make  a 
rush  for,  were  the  mules  and  horses,  in  order  to  carry 
a  load  away  with  them.  Then,  going  to  the  houses, 
they  would  secure  what  provisions  they  wanted,  and 
loading  them  into  a  cart,  would  set  a  negro  to  work 
hitching  up  a  horse  or  mule  to  it,  then  putting  him  on 
the  load  to  drive,  leave  a  soldier  with  him  to  see  things 


108  HISTORY    OF   THE    EIGHTY-SIXTH 

well  done.  After  this  was  done,  some  few  of  them 
would  go  back  to  the  houses  and  rummage  them  from 
bottom  to  top,  ransacking  every  nook  and  corner  for 
all  kinds  of  precious  things.  Trunks,  boxes,  beds  and 
such,  never  escaped  notice,  their  contents  being  thrown 
out  on  the  floor  and  scattered  to  the  four  winds. 

The  same  was  the  case  with  the  fine  libraries :  books 
that  were  not  wanted,  were  sent  whirling  on  the  floor. 
It  was  a  caution  to  see  them  go  in,  paying  no  respect 
for  anybody  or  anything.  Beautiful  damsels  and 
affectionate  dames  stood  around  with  eyes  suffused 
with  tears,  pleading  in  vain.  Negro  houses  met  the 
same  fate,  for  they  too  were  turned  topsy-turvy  from 
one  room  to  another.  There  was  always  some  mean 
enough  to  do  it,  in  the  hope  to  find  a  fortune,  and 
often  his  hopes  were  fulfilled,  as  the  whites  sometimes 
hid  their  money  with  the  negroes,  in  the  belief  it  would 
not  be  disturbed.  Out  of  one  fine  dwelling,  on  the 
Broad  river,  a  soldier  took  eighteen  thousand  dol 
lars  in  gold,  and  thinking  that  was  all,  set  it  on  fire. 
After  it  had  burned  down  and  the  fire  died  away, 
other  curious  soldiers  took  long  poles  and  raking 
among  the  embers  brought  to  light  a  large  bucket  of 
molten  silver. 

Though  nearly  every  house  on  the  line  of  march 
was  rummaged  for  gold  and  silver,  it  was  done  by  a 
few  unprincipled  men,  who  must  needs  accompany 
an  army  under  all  circumstances,  ready  for  any 
dirty  work  to  which  their  evil  propensities  may  lead 
them. 

After  these  foragers  had  collected  what  mules  and 
horses  they  could  find,  and  what  provisions  they 
wanted,  they  would  travel  on  in  the  course  the  column 
was  moving  till  near  night,  when  they  would  halt 
until  it  came  up,  and  all  go  into  camp  together. 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  109 


CHAPTER    IX. 

CAPTURE  OF  JOHNSTON'S  ARMY. 

As  soon  as  Sherman's  army  encamped  at  Goldsboro, 
it  began  to  prepare  for  a  new  campaign.  Nearly 
three  weeks  were  required  to  refit  and  equip,  aricl 
accumulate  supplies  necessary  for  the  pursuit  of 
Johnston's  army,  which  was  held  well  in  hand  about 
Smithfi  eld. 

^  On  the  9th  of  April,  an  order  was  read  to  our 
division,  from  General  Grant  to  General  Sherman, 
directing  him  to  move  on  Johnston  and  press  him. 
Prior  to  this,  an  order  had  also  been  read,  announcing 
the  capture  of  Eichmond,  which  created  universal 
joy.  Accordingly,  early  on  the  morning  of  the  10th 
of  April,  the  army  was  set  in  motion  against  Johnston, 
whose  entire  force  was  estimated  at  thirty-five  thou 
sand  effective  men. 

The  14th  Corps  marched  up  the  eastern  bank  of 
the  Xeuse  river,  and  arrived  at  Smithfield  on  the 
evening  of  the  llth.  Johnston  had  rapidly  retreated, 
across  theNeuse,  and  having  his  railway  to  lighten  up 
his  trains,  could  fall  back  faster  than  we  could 
pursue.  The  rains  had  also  set  in,  making  the  roads 
almost  impassable,  and  rendering-  a  deal  of  corduroy 
ing  necessary. 

On  the  morning  of  the  12th,  the  announcement  of 
the  surrender  of  rebel  General  K.  E.  Lee's  entire  army, 
was  made  to  our  corps,  causing  feelings  of  inexpressi 
ble  joy.  To  us,  it  was  great,  grand  and  glorious 
news. 

Upon  this  intelligence,  General  Sherman  gave  orders 


110  HISTORY    OF   THE    EIGHTY-SIXTH 

to  drop  all  trains,  and  the  army  marched  rapidly  on  to 
Raleigh  where  our  division  arrived  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  13th,  Johnston's  army  having  hastily  retreated 
on  the  roads  from  Hillsboro  to  Greensboro.  Remain 
ing  in  Raleigh,  over  the  night  of  the  13th,  the  14th 
Corps,  resumed  the  march  on  the  14th,  moving  south 
west  in  the  direction  of  Salisbury,  Morgan's  division 
arriving  at  Avon's  Ferry  on  the  Cape  Fear  river,  on 
the  afternoon  of  the  15th. 

Thus  matters  stood  when  General  Sherman  received 
a  communication  from  General  Johnston  that  arrested 
all  hostile  movements  for  the  time  being.  Our  di 
vision  now  took  up  camp  to  await  the  results  of  nego 
tiations  between  the  commanders  of  the  two  opposing 
armies,  which  finally  resulted  in  the  surrender  of 
Johnston's  entire  force. 

The  country  between  Goldsboro  and  Smithfield 
was  usually  low  and  swampy,  affording  good  positions 
for  the  enemy's  cavalry,  which,  in  small  force,  and  for 
a  short  time,  would  take  advantage  of  them.  On  the 
contrary,  however,  the  country  between  Smithfield 
and  Raleigh  was  enchanting :  we  had  not  seen  its  equal 
in  all  the  South.  When  our  division  was  within  four 
teen  miles  of  the  city  of  Raleigh,  a  flag  of  truce  train 
was  sent  to  meet  us,  offering  its  surrender,  which  being 
accepted,  the  rest  of  the  march  was  unobstructed 
according  to  conditions. 

Kilpatrick's  command  was  the  first  to  enter  it, 
and  while  the  General  was  riding  at  the  head  of  his 
men,  some  reprobate  had  the  audacity  to  shoot  at 
him.  The  offender  was  caught  and  hung. 

The  people  of  this  place  seemed  glad  that  the 
"  vandals  "  had  come.  Raleigh  was  the  handsomest 
city  in  all  famous  Dixie,  it  being  neat  and  clean,  and 
its  situation  grand,  the  surrounding  country  affording 
an  extensive  view.  Here  was  found  many  of  the 
handsome  feminine  chivalry,  who  having  fled  before  us 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER  INFANTRY.  Ill 

from  the  line  of  our  raids,  finally  concluded  to  meet 
face  to  face  the  "  grim-visaged  Yanks." 

Our  division  now  remained  at  Avon's  Ferry,  on  the 
Cape  Fear,  five  miles  below  the  confluence  of  the  Haw 
and  Deep  rivers,  for  five  days,  in  a  sickly  swamp. 
At  this  place,  the  Eighty-sixth  Illinois  set  to  work 
and  put  up  comfortable  quarters,  after  which  the 
boys  lay  round  in  the  shade,  discussing  the  prospects 
of  a  speedy  peace,  when  by  and  by,  some  one  brought 
the  dreadful  rumor  of  the  assassination  of  President 
Lincoln,  which  became  confirmed  on  the  evening  of 
the  18th,  Sherman's  order  to  that  effect  being  read  to 
our  division. 

This  sad  intelligence  cast  a  deep  gloom  over  their 
joy  in  the  anticipations  of  peace.  It  was  heard  by 
every  member  of  the  regiment,  and  division,  with 
feelings  and  expressions  of  the  keenest  sorrow. 

Finally,  a  memorandum  or  basis  of  agreement,  was 
drawn  up  by  General  Sherman,  which,  for  the  time 
being,  was  satisfactory  to  General  Johnston  and  all 
present  as  a  proposition  to  be  submitted  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States  for  ratification  or 
rejection,  it  being  sent  to  Washington  with  all  possible 
haste. 

While  these  things  were  pending,  our  division  was 
moved  from  the  Cape  Fear  river  to  Holly  Springs,  on 
the  21st,  that  it  might  be  nearer  communications. 
When  the  memorandum  between  Sherman  and  John 
ston  was  received  by  the  cabinet  at  Washington,  it  was 
disapproved,  and  General  Grant,  with  the  following 
letter  of  instructions,  was  sent,  in  haste,  to  General 
Sherman : 


112  I1JSTO11Y    OF   THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

"WAR  DEPARTMENT,  ) 

"  Washington   City,    April  21,   1865.  f 

u  GENERAL:  The  mrmorandnm  or  basis  agreed  upon  between 
General  Sherman  and  General  Johnston  having  been  submitted 
to  the  President,  -hoy  are  disapproved.  You  will  give  notice  of 
the  disapproval  !o  General  Sherman,  and  direct  him  to  resume 
hostilities  at  the  earliest  moment. 

"The  instructions  given  to  you  by  the  late  President,  Abraham 
Lincoln,  on  'he  Mrd  of  March,  by  my  telegram  of  that  date  addiessed 
to   you,     express    substantially    the    views    of  President    Andrew 
Johnson,  and  will  be  observed  by  General  Sherman. 
"A  copy  is  herewith  appended. 

''The  President  cles  res  that  you  proceed  immediately  to  the 
headquarters  of  General  Sherman,  and  direct  operations  against 
the  enemv.  Yours  truly. 

11  EDWIN  M.  ST ANTON, 

1  k  Secretary  of  War. 
"To  LIEUTENANT- GENERAL  GRANT." 

This  dispatch  was  received  on  the  morning  of  the 
2-ith.  General  Sherman  instantly  gave  notice  to  Gen. 
Johnston  as  follows  :  "I  have  replies  from  Washington 
to  my  communication  of  the  18th.  I  am  instructed  to 
limit  my  operations  to  your  immediate  command,  and 
not  attempt  civil  negotiations.  I  therefore  demand 
the  surrender  of  your  army  on  the  same  terms  as 
were  given  to  General  Lee  at  Appomattox,  Ya.,  on 
the  9 tli  of  April,  instant,  purely  and  simply." 

General  Sherman  now  issued  orders  terminating 
the  truce  on  the  26th,  at  12  o'clock  M.,  and  ordered 
all  to  be  in  readiness  to  march  at  that  time. 

Again,  on  the  25th,  General  Johnston  invited  Gen 
eral  Sherman  10  another  conference,  with  a  view  to 
surrender.  It  now  became  the  province  of  General 
Grant  to  take  the  lead  in  negotiations,  but  he  pre 
ferred  that  Sherman  should  consummate  the  work. 
Nevertheless,  General  Johnston  was  afforded  another 
interview.  At  this  conference  final  terms  were  soon 
concluded,  and  the  second  grand  army  of  the  Confed 
eracy  was  surrendered  to  Sherman  on  the  following 
terms : 


ILLINOIS    VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  113 

"  All  acts  of  war  on  the  part  of  the  troops  under 
General  Johnston's  command  to  cease  from  this  date. 
All  arms  and  public  property  to  be  deposited  at 
Greensboro,  and  delivered  to  an  ordnance  officer  of 
the  United  States  Army.  Eolls  of  all  officers  and 
men  to  be  made  in  duplicate,  one  copy  to  be  retained 
by  the  commander  of  the  troops,  and  the  other  to  be 
given  to  an  officer  to  be  designated  by  General  Sher 
man.  Each  officer  and  man  to  give  his  individual 
obligation  in  writing  not  to  take  up  arms  against  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  until  properly  re 
leased  from  this  obligation.  The  side-arms  of  officers, 
and  their  private  horses  and  baggage  to  be  retained 
by  tli em. 

"  This  being  done,  all  the  officers  and  men  will  be 
permitted  to  return  to  their  homes,  not  to  be  disturbed 
by  the  United  States  authorities  so  long  as  they 
observe  their  obligations  and  the  law  in  force  where 
they  may  reside." 

Immediately  on  the  conclusion  of  the  definite  cartel 
of  surrender,  General  Sherman  issued  orders  for  the 
future  movements  of  his  army.  Its  work  was  done, 
and  nothing  remained  for  the  greater  portion  of  it  not 
required  to  garrison  the  conquered  country  but  to  re 
turn  home  and  disband. 

The  real  and  genuine  feelings  felt  and  expressed  by 
the  soldiers  of  our  army  at  the  surrender  of  Johnston, 
the  return  of  peace,  and  the  fact  of  their  immediate 
march  towards  the  homes  from  which  they  had  been  so 
long  absent,  cannot  be  written.  It  caused  a  thrill  of 
emotions  in  every  heart  beyond  the  reach  of  the  pen 
to  portray. 

The  Eighty-sixth  Illinois  was  still  camped  at  Holly 
Springs  when  the  glorious  news  of  the  i'all  of  John 
ston  and  the  order  for  the  homeward  march  was 
received.  Every  man  was  electrified  with  the  great, 
grand  and  glorious  news.  Horrid  visions  of  the  past 


114  HISTORY   OF  THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

no  longer  possessed  a  single  mind,  but  the  hearty  wel 
come,  the  joys  and  pleasures  of  a  distant  home,  and 
the  dear,  beloved  friends  that  made  it  home,  crowded 
the  mind  of  every  one  with  inexpressible  feelings  of 
delight.  Every  man  was  more  nimble,  more  talkative 
and  more  pleasant  than  ever  before. 

Nothing  could  be  more  enlivening,  more  vivifying 
and  more  devoutly  to  be  wished  than  the  very  position 
in  which  they  stood.  Long  and  tedious  marches  had 
lost  their  dread,  and  every  one  became  anxious  to 
be  homeward  bound. 

Bright  visions  of  a  future  welcome  at  Peoria  rose 
up  before  the  minds  of  all  —  for  there  we  would  be 
met  by  the  joys  of  our  long  absent  friends,  and  the 
kind  hospitality  of  the  noble  and  generous-hearted 
ladies  of  the  Women's  National  League  —  ladies  who 
justly  deserve  our  hearty  thanks  for  their  humane 
and  loyal  efforts  to  cheer  and  aid  us  in  the  field  and 
at  home.  Their  noble  deeds  will  ever  maintain  a 
sacred  spot  on  the  tablets  of  our  memory. 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  115 


CHAPTER   X. 

HOMEWARD   BOUND. 

General  Morgan's  division,  of  the  14th  Corps,  led  out 
from  its  camp  at  Holly  Springs  at  half  past  five  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  29th  of  April,  and  marching  to 
the  railroad  camped  near  it,  eight  miles  west  of  Ral 
eigh,  at  Page's  Station,  where  it  procured  supplies  for 
its  homeward  march. 

Remaining  at  this  place  until  the  1st  of  May,  it 
took  up  the  march  for  the  city  of  Richmond,  and 
crossing  the  Neuse  river  at  Fisher's  Dam,  camped  on 
the  first  night  four  miles  north  of  this  dam  and  twenty 
miles  from  Oxford,  after  a  hard  march  of  twenty-two 
miles. 

The  column  led  out  of  camp  the  next  morning  at 
five  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  passing  through  Oxford,  camped 
three  miles  north,  marching  twenty -three  miles.  Led 
out  of  camp  on  the  morning  of  the  3rd,  andj  being 
cut  off  by  the  3rd  division  of  the  20th  Corps,  made  a 
forced  march  round  it,  and  came  in  ahead  of  its  ad 
vance,  but  Morgan  gave  the  road ;  then  continuing 
on,  camped  on  the  Roanoke  river,  four  miles  into 
Virginia,  having  marched  about  eighteen  miles. 

Led  out  of  camp  on  the  4th  at  half  past  three  A.  M., 
and  crossing  the  Roanoke  river  at  Faylor's  Ferry,  six 
miles  above  Huskington,  on  a  pontoon  bridge, 
marched  through  Boydton  and  camped  on  the  Meher- 
rin  river.  Marched  twenty-three  miles.  Led  out  at 
five  o'clock  A.  M.  on  the  5th  ;  crossed  Little  and  Big 
Meherrm  rivers,  and  marching  through  Lewiston, 
crossed  Nottoway  river  and  camped  four  miles  from 
Nottoway  C.  H.,  having  marched  twenty-seven  miles 


116  HISTORY    OF   THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

over  bad  roads.  Kesumed  the  march  on  the  6th  at  half 
past  four  o'clock,  passing  through  Nottoway  C.  H.  and 
Dennisville,  camped  late  at  night  at  Good's  Bridge  on 
the  Appomattox  river,  having  made  a  hard  march  of 
thirty  miles  under  the  pressure  of  a  warm  day. 

Crossed  the  Appomattox  river  on  the  7th,  and 
marching  camped  on  Falling  creek,  five  miles  from 
Richmond.  Made  twenty-five  miles.  Now  ended  the 
march  until  the  llth. 

It  was  a  race  between  the  corps  commanders  of 
Slocum's  wing.  Sherman  ordered  his  Generals  not 
to  march  over  Fifteen  miles  per  day,  but  instead,  Gen 
eral  Davis  made  from  twenty -two  to  thirty.  It  was  an 
imposition  of  the  worst  feature,  for  many  a  good  sol 
dier  was  killed  that  might  not  have  been,  all  for  a  foot 
race. 

On  this  march  the  Eighty-sixth  traveled  one  hun 
dred  and  sixty-one  miles  over  a  beautiful  country,  in 
the  latter  part  of  spring,  everything  assuming  a  lovely 
aspect ;  and  had  the  inarch  been  conducted  as  it  was 
ordered  to  have  been,  it  might  have  enjoyed  the  trip. 
All  the  inhabitants  came  out  to  see  the  Yankees ;  the 
old  and  young,  the  white  and  black,  came  from  far  and 
near  to  get  a  view.  The  regiment  now  set  to  work 
after  its  usual  manner  in  the  erection  of  comfortable 
quarters,  which  it  had  completed  in  a  short  time,  and 
then  took  the  world  easy.  It  was  encamped  in  a 
vicinity  made  renowned  by  the  wars  of  the  great 
rebellion,  where  the  contending  forces  of  the  Ilebel 
and  Union  armies  had  maneuvered  for  so  long  a  time 
for  the  mastery. 

At  this  camp,  it  will  be  remembered,  the  command 
ing  officers  issued  a  deal  of  their  surplus  whisky  to 
the  division,  which  proved  the  harbinger  of  rows, 
riots,  lights  of  a  stirring  and  noisy  kind,  too  numerous 
to  mention.  After  four  days  rest,  the  division  re 
sumed  its  inarch  for  Washington  City  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  llth  of  Mav,  and  passing  through 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY,  117 

Manchester,  crossed  the  James  river  and  entered  the 
city  of  Richmond  from  the  south-west.  Now,  for  the 
first  time,  it  beheld  the  once  great  Rebel  Capital  - 
the  anaconda  and  boa-constrictor  of  rebel  vengeance. 
When  the  command  reached  the  north  side  of  the 
James,  the  Libby  prison  could  be  seen  on  the  right, 
where  so  many  of  our  captured  soldiers  have  lan 
guished  and  died  under  the  crnel  care  of  its  keeper. 
Then,  a  short  distance  above  the  Libby,  and  on  the 
same  side  of  the  street,  stood  Castle  Thunder,  also  a 
place  of  infamous  reputation.  Passing  on,  it  was  met 
by  hundreds  of  peddlers  dealing  out  their  pies,  cakes, 
cheese,  and  such,  by  the  wholesale.  The  city  did  not 
show  the  ravages  of  war  as  much  as  was  expected ; 
true,  a  part  of  it  had  been  burnt  orbits  evacuation,  but 
aside  from  this  there  was  nothing  to  show  that  it  had 
been  so  long  the  theatre  of  war ;  neither  racked  nor 
ruined,  but  compact,  neat  and  clean. 

All  were  surprised  not  to  see  huge  entrenchments, 
high  as  the  Chinese  walls  ;  but  alas  !  there  was  nothing 
but  an  ordinary  line  of  works  around  it,  no  stronger 
than  the  Eighty-sixth  had  often  made  on  the  Atlanta 
campaign  in  one  night!-  "As  strong  as  Richmond" 
had  become  a  by-word.  In  front  of  Kenesaw,  the 
Chattahoochie  and  Atlanta,  may  be  found  stronger 
works  by  far,  thrown  up  in  just  one  mortal  night, 
than  are  to  be  seen  on  the  south-west  and  north  of 
Richmond. 

Jeff.  Davis,  in  his  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  of  the 
Confederacy,  was  not  as  secure  as  many  were  wont  to 
think.  Sherman  would  have  snaked  him  out  sooner 
than  he  did  if  he  had  had  his  "  flanking  machine  "  in 
operating  distance.  But  time  progressed,  the  world 
moved,  and  Richmond  fell. 

Passing  through  Richmond,  the  command  marching 
northward,  camped  four  miles  from  Hanover  C.  H.,  mak 
ing  sixteen  miles.  Led  out  of  camp  at  twelve  o'clock 
M.  on  the  12th,  and  passing  through  Hanover  C.  H., 


118  HISTORY   OF  THE    EIGHTY-SIXTH 

crossed  the  Pamunky  at  Little  Page's  Bridge,  and 
camped  four  miles  above  it,  making  eight  miles.  The 
course  of  march  on  the  13th  was  north-west,  crossing 
the  railway  at  Chesterfield,  and  camped  one  mile 
beyond  Childsburg,  making  eighteen  miles. 

The  march  of  the  14th  was  still  north-west.  The 
command  camped  on  Plentiful  creek  by  an  old  mill, 
having  made  an  easy  march  of  eighteen  miles.  Re- 
suming  the  march  on  the  15th  in  a  north-western  direc 
tion,  the  command  crossed  the  Kapidan  river  at 
Kaccoon  Ford,  and  camped  for  the  night  on  the  north 
bank,  having  marched  seventeen  miles.  Led  out  of 
camp  on  the  Rapidan  at  seven  A.  M.  on  the  16th,  the 
Eighty-sixth  Illinois  being  train  guard  and  crossing 
the  North  Fork  o£  the  Rappahanock  at  Kellie's  Ford, 
marched  and  camped  near  Cattlet's  Station,  making 
twenty-two  miles. 

Marched  from  Catlett's  Station  at  half  past  four  A.  M. 
on  the  17th,  and  following  the  railway,  passed  through 
Manassas  Junction  and  camped  on  the  Bull  Kun  battle 
field,  having  marched  twenty-five  miles  under  a  hot 
sun. 

Resumed  the  march  at  five  A.  M.  on  the  18th,  and 
passing  through  Fairfax  C.  EL,  camped  within  nine 
miles  of  Washington,  having  marched  fifteen  miles. 
Again,  at  nine  A.  M.  on  the  19th,  the  march  was  resumed, 
the  command  camping  at  a  point  equidistant  from 
Washington  and  Alexandria,  and  four  miles  from 
each,  having  marched  five  miles.  »Frorn  its  camp  at 
this  place  the  Eighty -sixth  Illinois  saw  the  distant 
dome  of  the  Capitol  for  the  first  time. 

Soon  again  the  regiment  had  comfortable  quarters, 
and  enjoyed  them  hugely  after  so  long  and  arduous  a 
march.  It  marched  one  hundred  and  forty-four  miles 
on  its  journey  from  Richmond  to  Washington,  con 
suming  eight  days  in  doing  it.  On  this  march  all 
were  surprised  not  to  find  the  country  cut  up  with  all 
kinds  of  works  incident  to  war,  for  such  things  were 


ILLINOIS  VOLUNTEER    INFANTRY.  119 

not  to  be  seen  to  any  formidable  extent.  At  Manas- 
sas  Junction  there  were  a  few  old  forts,  then  in  ruins, 
that  may  have  been  at  some  time  quite  formidable, 
but  never  wonderful.  At  Bull  Kun  was  to  be  seen 
the  strongest  entrenchments  on  the  line  of  march, 
which  had  been  built  and  held  by  the  rebel  army. 

The  following  are  the  casualties  of  the  regiment 
from  the  time  it  left  Savannah  until  its  muster  out : 

Recruits 6 

Resign  ed   2 

Transferred 5 

Discharged. 12 

Ordinary  deaths . ". 4 

Killed  in  action 3 

Died  of  wounds  5 

Missing  in  action 8 

Wounded  in  action 20 

Wounded,  accidental 1 


Aggregate 66 

Immediately  upon  the  arrival  of  Sherman's  army 
at  Washington  City,  General  Grant  issued  orders  for 
the  review  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  take 
place  on  the  23rd,  and  that  known  as  Sherman's  army 
to  take  place  on  the  24th.  Thousands  of  people 
flocked  from  all  parts  of  the  country  to  witness  the 
grand  pageant.  The  most  ample  preparations  had 
been  made  for  the  occasion.  The  President  was 
seated  on  an  elevated  stand,  surrounded  by  his  Cabi 
net  officers,  foreign  ministers  and  distinguished  stran 
gers.  Pennsylvania  Avenue  was  lined  on  both  sides 
from  end  to  end  with  admiring  people ;  every  window 
presented  its  tableau  of  fair  spectators ;  and  the 
occasion  was  such  as  had  never  before  been  witnessed 
on  the  American  continent.  The  daily  papers  all  over 
the  land  soon  nourished  lively  descriptions  of  the 
great  and  grand  review  ;  and  according  to  them  and 
the  judgment  of  most  of  the  spectators,  the  Army  of 
the  West  bore  off  the  palm ;  they  described  it  as  more 


120  HISTORY   OF   THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

graceful,  more  stalwart  and  more  intelligent  than  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

On  the  occasion  of  this  grand  review  of  Sherman's 
army,  a  certain  New  York  paper,  the  Independent,  paid 
our  division  a  very  high  compliment.  It  said : 

"The  finest  looking  set  of  men  in  either  array — they  were  also 
said  to  be  the  best  drilled — was  the  2nd  division  of  the  14th  Corps, 
composed  of  Western  troops,  and  commanded  by  General  James 
D.  Morgan,  of  Qnincy.  Illinois,  one  of  the  bravest  of  the  brave, 
the  idol  of  his  soldiers,  and  called  by  them  '  Our  Jimmy  Morgan.1  " 

But  as  for  the  soldiers  themselves,  grand  pageantry 
in  the  line  of  reviews  had  "played  out."  What  was 
charming  to  the  assembled  multitude  was  no  joyous 
affair  to  them.  Their  good  time  came,  however,  when 
the  attention  of  officials  was  turned  to  mustering  out. 

On  the  morning  of  the  review  of  Sherman's  army, 
our  division  led  out  of  its  camp  at  an  early  hour,  and 
by  a  slow  and  tiresome  march  it  arrived  at  Washing 
ton  and  passed  before  the  admiring  crowd  between  one 
and  three  o'clock  P.  M.,  marching  back  to  camp  in  the 
evening,  where  it  arrived  as  much  fatigued  as  if  it 
had  been  pursuing  rebels. 

At  twelve  o'clock  M.  on  the  day  after  the  grand  re 
view,  General  Morgan  moved  his  division  across  the 
long  bridge  over  the  Potomac  into  Washington  City, 
and  thence  three  miles  north,  where  he  camped  it  near 
the  President's  summer  houses. 

While  encamped  here  the  boys  were  allowed  many 
privileges  in  and  around  the  Capitol ;  all  the  guards 
being  taken  off,  they  were  allowed  to  run  wild,  though 
they  did  not  run  riot 

Here  also  the  Eighty-sixth  Illinois,  on  the  evening 
of  the  6th  of  June,  1865,  was  mustered  out  of  the 
United  States  service,  having  been  engaged  in  the  ser 
vice  of  its  country  as  an  organized  body  for  three 
years  wanting  two  months  and  twenty-two  days. 

Immediately  after  this  the  boys  of  the  regiment 
saluted  pa'  ii  other  as  American  citizens  and  not  as 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY. 


121 


soldiers,  and  though  the  metamorphosis  was  sudden,  it 
seemed  to  have  the  force  of  a  protracted  transforma 
tion. 

The  following  are  the  casualties  of  the  regiment 
from  the  time  it  left  Lee  and  Gordon's  Mills  until  its 
muster  out : 

Recruits 6 

Transferred  by  promotion 1 

Transferred  to  other  regiments 31 

Discharged 21 

Ordinary  deaths 11 

Killed  in  action 48 

Missing. ... 83 

Deserted 6 

Wounded  in  action 133 

Wounded,  accidental 9 

Died  of  wounds 15 

Resigned 2 

Surrendered  from  desertion 1 

Aggregate 323 

The  entire  casualties  of  the  Eighty-sixth  Kegiment, 
during  its  term  of  service,  in  killed  and  died,  dis 
charged,  transferred  and  deserted,  was  four  hundred 
and  sixty -seven  men,  the  company  loss  being  as 
follows : 


Killed  and 
Died. 

Discharged. 

Transferred. 

Deserted. 

Company  A  

29 

16 

9 

1 

B  

5 

21 

12 

3 

C     . 

11 

25 

8 

D  

16 

19 

9 

3 

E  

15 

25 

6 

2 

F  

15 

26 

4 

3 

G-  

16 

10 

6 

1 

H  

12 

22 

8 

0 

I  

22 

18 

7 

g 

K  

9Q 

20 

5 

2 

Total  '. 

161 

202 

73 

31J 

11 


122  HISTORY   OF  THE    EIGHTY-SIXTH 

The  regiment  lost  fifty-one  men  killed  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty-four  wounded  in  battle,  having  par 
ticipated  in  twenty-two  engagements,  not  mentioning 
many  others  in  which  it  rendered  assistance  by  sup 
porting,  guarding  flanks,  or  protecting  rear.  It 
marched  thirty -five  hundred  and  thirty  miles,  and  was 
transported  by  railroad  about  two  thousand  miles, 
making  a  total  distance  of  five  thousand  five  hundred 
and  thirty  miles,  besides  a  great  deal  of  traveling 
about  camps,  on  picket,  etc.,  that  is  not  taken  into 
account. 

There  were  three  hundred  and  seventy-nine  men 
mustered  out  with  the  regiment ;  besides  this  number 
there  were  many  absent  at  hospitals  and  on  detail  who 
could  not  be  present  at  the  muster-out.  Two  days 
after  it  was  mustered  out  of  the  service,  the  regiment 
boarded  the  cars,  at  the  depot  in  Washington  City,  on 
its  way  to  Chicago,  there  to  receive  its  pay,  disband 
and  go  home. 

From  Washington  it  passed  through  Baltimore  via 
Ilarrisburg  and  Pittsburgh  to  Chicago,  where  it  arrived 
at  twelve  o'clock  M.,  on  the  llth  of  June.  Every 
where  on  its  route  it  received  expressions  of  the  most 
cordial  welcome.  Every  one  seemed  rejoiced  that  the 
soldier  boys  were  coming  home  from  the  bloody 
wars,  in  every  way  showing  their  grateful  feeling  of 
warmest  sympathy  for  the  services  they  had  rendered 
to  Union  and  liberty. 

At  Pittsburgh  it  received  the  kindest  welcome  of 
them  all.  More  genuine  sympathy  was  manifested 
there  than  the  boys  had  yet  experienced.  In  behalf 
of  this  people  was  engendered  a  feeling  of  the  most 
profound  regard.  The  regiment  was  escorted  from  the 
cars  to  the  city  hall  by  a  band  discoursing  delightful 
music,  where  was  prepared  a  dainty  meal  for  all.  After 
dinner,  it  was  escorted  back  to  the  train,  by  the  same 
band,  amid  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs  from  the 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  123 

crowds  that  thronged  the  streets  and  balconies,  and 
the  "  God  bless  you  "  from  a  thousand  lips.  So  long 
as  our  minds  can  retrace  the  past,  and  so  long  as  our 
hearts  are  capable  of  a  generous  emotion,  will  we 
continue  to  hold  in  sacred  remembrance,  the  noble 
and  generous-hearted  people  of  Pittsburgh. 

Every  one  anticipated  a  hearty  welcome  at  Chicago, 
inasmuch  as  it  had  been  extended  elsewhere  on  the 
route;  but  we  were  cruelly  and  sadly  disappointed. 
No  one  met  the  regiment  at  the  depot  even  to  tell  it 
where  to  go.  Every  window  presented  its  tableaux 
of  fair  spectators,  but  no  signal  was  made  in  token  of 
welcome,  no  hearty  "  God  bless  you "  emanated  in 
audible  words  from  a  single  heart,  but  they  gazed  as 
if  upon  a  menagerie  of  southern  wild  beasts.  The 
men  were  chagrined,  and  would  exclaim,  "This  is 
Richmond,  not  Chicago !  " 

The  regiment  finally  found  its  way  to  Camp  Fry 
and  pitched  its  tents.  Here  it  remained  until  the  21st, 
waiting  impatiently  for  its  pay  and  discharge. 

The  good  folks  of  Chicago,  however,  determined 
not  to  allow  the  boys  to  leave  their  city  until  they 
had  assuaged  their  anger.  Accordingly,  the  Eighty- 
sixth  and  12oth  Illinois  received  an  invitation  to 
appear  at  the  Sanitary  Fair  rooms,  and  partake  of  the 
fatted  calf,  where  they  received  not  only  a  substantial 
dinner,  but  also  several  stirring  speeches,  among  which 
wras  one  made  by  General  Sherman. 

The  General  spoke  as  follows  : 

FELLOW  SOLDIERS  :  I  regret  that  it  Las  fallen  to  my  task  to 
speak  to  YOU,  because,  I  would  rather  that  others  should  do 
what  is  most  common  to  them,  and  less  so  to  me.  But,  my 
fellow  soldiers,  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  assure  you  that  what  ihe 
President  of  this  Fair  has  told  you  just  now  is  true  —  that  a  hearty 
welcome  awaits  you  wherever  you  go,  not  only  in  Chicago  but 
everywhere.  Many  people  think  you  want  bread  and  meat,  but  yoi  r 
faces  and  my  knowledge  tell  me  that  you  prefer  the  waving  of 
handkerchiefs  and  the  applause  of  the  people  to  all  the  bread  and 


124  HISTORY   OF   THE   EIGHTY-SIXTH 

meat  that  fill  the  warehouses  of  Chicago.  (Cheers.)  Those  sol 
diers  who  are  now  before  me  know  where  bread  and  meat  can 
and  will  be  found.  (Laughter.)  All  we  ask  arid  all  we  have  ever 
asked,  is  a  silent  and  generous  acknowledgment  of  our  services 
when  rendered  in  the  cause  of  our  country. 

And,  fellow  soldiers,  when  you  get  home  among  those  who  will 
interest  you  more  than  anything  I  can  say,  just  call  to  mind 
where  you  were  twelve  months  ago.  You  remember  the  Kenesaw 
Peak  and  Little  Kenesaw.  It  is  not  a  year  since  you  stormed  them, 
and  lost  my  old  partner  and  friend,  Dan.  McCook.  That  was  on 
the  27th  June,  1864.  In  June,  1865,  you  stand  in  the  midst  of 
Chicago,  surrounded  by  bright  colors,  and  ladies,  and  children. 
Then  you  were  lying  in  the  mud,  the  rocks  and  the  dirt,  and  you  knew 
that  there  was  an  enemy  "we  had  to  fight  with  and  conquer,  and  we 
did  not  exactly  know  how  to  do  it.  (Laughter.)  But  we  were  pa 
tient  ;  we  reconnoitered — we  watched  their  flanks — we  studied  the 
ground  —  and  in  three  days  we  had  Johnston  and  his  whole  army 
pinned;  he  retired,  and  we  did  not  give  him  a  chance  of  stopping 
until  he  had  put  the  Chaltahoochie  between  us  and  him.  That  is 
a  lesson  to  you.  Temporary  defeat  is  nothing  when  a  man  is  deter 
mined  to  succeed.  You  are  not  conquered  —  you  never  can  be 
conquered  when  the  mind  is  clear  and  determined  in  its  purpose; 
you  must  succeed — no  temporary  defeat  can  cause  failure. 

You  will  remember  that  on  the  4th  of  July  we  stood  close  to 
each  other,  and  we  told  them  then  that  they  would  have  to  go 
farther  than  Atlanta,  for  we  should  continue  to  go  on.  (Cheers.) 
You  will  remember  how  their  pickets  told  us  they  had  feinforee- 
ments.  Yes,  but  what?  They  had  one  of  our  Corps — Schofield's. 
(Laughter.)  Before  General  Johnston  knew,  or  dreamed  of  it, 
I  had  reinforced  his  side  of  the  Chattahoochie  by  General  Scho- 
field's  23rd  Corps. 

From  this,  my  fellow  soldiers  I  want  you  to  learn  the  lesson,  no 
matter  where  you  are,  to-day  or  to-morrow,  by  keeping  a  purpose 
close  in  your  mind,  in  the  end  you  will  succeed,  whether  it  be  in 
military,  civil,  social  or  family  affairs.  Let  no  difficulty  appal  you 
—  let  no  check  alarm  you — let  your  purpose  in  life  be  clear  and 
steadfast —  keep  in  view  the  object  and  design  of  your  life,  and  just 
as  sure  as  you  are  now  before  me  in  health  and  strength,  you  will 
succeed. 

You  are  now  returned  to  your  homes,  and  the  task  now  allotted 
to  you  is  that  of  the  future.  The  past  is  disposed  of —  it  may  soon 
be  forgotten;  but  the  future  is  before  you,  and  that  future  will  be 
more  glorious  than  the  past.  Look  at  your  own  State  of  Illinois  — 
look  at  the  city  of  Chicago.  It  is  hardly  as  old  as  any  of  you,  for 
twenty-five  years  ago  a  little  military  garrison  was  here  —  a  two- 
company  post;  and  now  it  is  a  city  of  palaces,  of  streets,  railroads, 
etc.  You,  the  men  of  a  city  almost  the  second  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  are  to  assist  in  directing  the  affairs  of  this  coun- 


ILLINOIS   VOLUNTEER   INFANTRY.  125 

try.  You  have  the  patience  and  industr}',  and  more  than  that,  you 
have  organization,  discipline  and  drill,  and  if  I  have  been  instru 
mental  in  teaching  you  this  —  in  maintaining  discipline,  order  and 
good  government  in  the  army  which  I  have  had  the  honor  to  com 
mand,  I  am  contented;  for  on  this  system,  and  on  the  high  tone  of 
honor  which  pervades  your  minds,  must  be  built  the  empire  of 
America.  (Loud  cheers.) 

I  did  not  wish  to  address  you,  but  I  believe  that  there  are  no 
others  here  who  desire  to  speak,  and  therefore  I  ask  you  .to  ac 
cept  what  is  given  in  heartiness  —  a  full,  joyous,  welcome  home 
to  Chicago.  I  know  it  is  genuine,  for  I  myself  have  experienced 
it.  Feel  yon  are  at  home  —  and  that  there  are  no  more  rebels, 
no  more  raking  fire  —  no  more  shot;  but  that  you  have  done  with 
them  all  forever.  Good  morning. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  21st  of  June,  having  been 
in  Chicago  just  ten  days,  every  member  of  the 
Eighty-sixth,  received  his  pay  and  final  discharge. 
Soon,  the  boys  scattered  to  the  four  winds,  bound  for 
home  and  friends.  Suddenly,  the  Eighty-sixth  Illinois 
passed  from  existence ! 


Here  ends  the  history  of  the  good  old  Eighty-sixth 
Eegiment  of  Volunteer  Infantry,  which  had  under 
gone  so  many  days  of  hardships,  perils  and  privations 
for  the  maintenance  of  home,  union  and  liberty. 

There  is  no  surviving  member  of  the  regiment,  but 
will  always  pride  himself  in  having  belonged  to  that 
organization  ;  he  will  never  forget  the  sad  and  repul 
sive  scenes  of  the  past,  in  connection  with  the  merry 
days  of  yore  ;  he  will  ever  cherish  in  lasting  remem 
brance  the  many  noble  and  heroic  comrades  who  have 
fallen  by  his  side  —  men  with  whom  he  has  passed  the 
most  trying  hours  of  his  existence  —  men  who  knowing 
the  rights  of  their  friends,  their  country  and  homes, 
dared  raise  the  strong  right  arm  in  defense.  Ay  !  he 
will  ever  invoke  a  just  Heaven  to  reward  them  as 
their  merit  deserves,  and  in  his  hours  of  sad  reflection, 
he  will  drop  a  tear  to  their  memory. 


REGIMENTAL  EOSTER 


REGIMENTAL  STAFF. 

Colonel  David  D.  Irons;    August  27,   1862;  died  August  11.  1863, 

at  Nashville,  Tennessee. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  David  W.  Magee;    August  27,  1862;    resigned 

March  25,    1864,  at  Camp  McAfee,  Georgia. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Allen  F.  Fahnestock;  April  13,  1864;  mustered 

out  with  reganent  at  Washington  City. 
Major  J.   S.    Bean,   August  27,    1862;  resigned  December  26,  1862, 

at  Nashville,  Tenne?see. 
Major  0.  Fountain;     December   26,    1862:    resigned    October   30, 

1863,  at  North  Chickamauga. 
Major  J.   F.  Thomas;  April  13,  1864;  mustered  out  witli  regiment 

at  Washington  City. 
Surgeon  M.  M.   Hooton;    August    27,  1862;    mustered   out    with 

regiment  at  Washington  City. 
First  Assistant  Surgeon  J.    Gregory;  August  27,   1862;  transferred 

to  U.  S.  C.,   December  15,    1863. 
Second  Assistant  Surgeon  I.   J.   Guth;  August  27,  1862;  mustered 

out  with  regiment  at  Washington  City. 
Adjutant  J.   E.   Prescott;    August   27,   1862;    resigned    December 

26,  1862,  at  Nashville,  Tennessee. 
Adjutant  C.   D.  Irons;    ;  resigned  April  25,    1863,    at   North 

Chickamaugii. 
Adjutant  L.  J.  Dandy; ;  discharged  April  25,  1865,  per  order 

War  Department. 
Regimental  Quartermaster  C.  H.  Dean;  August  27,  1862;    promoted 

A.  Q.  M.,  February  18,  1864. 

Regimental  Quartermaster  A.  Bracken;    February  18,  1864;  muster 
ed  out  with  regiment  at  Washington  City. 
Chaplain  G.  W.  Brown;    August   27,   1862;   resigned  October   13, 

1863,   at  Nashville,   Tennessee. 

Chaplain  J.  S.  Millsaps;  October  13,  1863;  mustered  out  with  regi 
ment  at  Washington  City. 


REGIMENTAL    ROSTER.  127 


NON- COMMISSIONED  STAFF. 

Sergeant-Major  L.  J.  Dandy;  promoted. 

Sergeant- Major  D.  E.  Ward;  mustered  out  with  regiment. 

Quartermaster  Sergeant  J.  Adams;  died  February  19,  1863. 

Quartermaster  Sergeant  C.  Magee;  mustered  out  with  regiment. 

Commissary  Sergeant  T.  A.  McNorris;  discharged. 

Commissary  Sergeant    W.    J.    Longfellow;     mustered     out    with 

regiment. 

Hospital  Steward  Jo.  Robinson;  mustered  out  with  regiment. 
Principal  Musician  A.  Webber;  mustered  out  with  regiment. 
Principal  Musician  S.  B.  Silzell;  mustered  out  with  regiment. 

COMPANY  OFFICERS. 
COMPANY  A. 

Captain  W.  S.  Magarity;  August  27.   1862;  resigned  October  10, 

1863. 
First  Lieutenant   Jo.  Major;  August  27,    1862;    promoted   Captain 

October  10,  1863,  and  mustered  out  with  regiment. 
Second  Lieutenant   S.  T.  Rogers;  Aug.    27,  1862;    promoted   First 

Lieutenant  October  10,  1863,  and  resigned  from  wounds  received 

in  battle,  June  27,  1864.     J.  J.  Jones,  promoted  First  Lieutenant. 

COMPANY  B. 

Captain  E.  C.  Beasley;  August  27,  1862;  resigned  January  28,  1863. 

J.   P.   Worrell,  promoted  Captain. 
First  Lieutenant  J.  C.   Kingsley;   August   27,  1862;  mustered   out 

with  regiment  at  Washington  City. 
Second  Lieutenant  N.  McVicker  ;    August  27,  1862;   resigned  Jan. 

17,  18G3.     P.  W.  WycoiF,  promoted  Second  Lieutenant. 

COMPANY  C. 

Captain  J.  F.  Thomas;  Aucrust  27,    1862;    promoted    Major,  April 

13,  1864,  and  mustered  out  with  regiment.     W.    G.    McDonald, 

promoted  Captain 
First  Lieutenant  J.  H.  Batchelder;  August  27,  1862;   Brigade  Com; 

missary,  and  mustered  out  with  regiment. 
Second  Lieutenant  R.  B.  Beebe;  August  27,  1862;  resigned  Ftb.  1, 

1863 

COMPANY  D. 

Captain  Frank  Hitchcock;    August  27,  1862;    mustered   out   with 

regiment  at  Washington  City. 
First  Lieutenant  W.  D.Faulkner;    August  27,  1862;    mustered  out 

with  regiment  at  Washington  City. 
Second  Lieutenant  W.  H.  Hall;  August  27,  1862;  resigned  Jan.  14, 

1863.     I.  L  Gleares  promoted  Second  Lieutenant. 


128  REGIMENTAL  ROSTER, 

COMPANY  E. 

Captain  0.  Fountain;  August  27,  1862;  promoted  Major  Deo.  26, 
1862.  J.  F.  Waldrof,  Captain,  resigned  June  18,  1863.  E.  Van 
Antwerp,  Captain,  died  July  15,  1864. 

First  Lieutenant  M.  Grave;  August  27,  1862;  resigned  January  13, 
1863. 

Second   Lieutenant   S.  W.  Williams:    August   27,  1862;    resigned 

t    January  11,  1863.     H.  "W.  Wilson  promoted  First  Lieutenant. 

COMPANY  F. 

Captain  J.  L.  Burkhalter;    August  27,   1862;    mustered   out  with 

regiment  at  Washington  City. 
First  Lieutenant  N.  D.  Combs";  August  27,  1862;   resigned  January 

11,   1863. 
Second  Lieutenant  John  Hall;    August  27,  1862;    promoted   First 

Lieutenant,    and   mustered   out    with   regiment   at   Washington 

City.-    A.  P.  Loveland  promoted  Second  Lieutenant. 

COMPANY-  G. 

Captain  W.  B.  Bogardus;  August  27,  1862;  died  of  wounds  re 
ceived  in  battle  March  19,  1865. 

First  Lieutenant  S.  L.  Zinser;  August  27,  1862;  promoted  Captain; 
mustered  out  with  regiment. 

Second  Lieutenant  M.  Kingman;  August  27,  1862;  promoted  First 
Lieutenant;  mustered  out  with  regiment. 

COMPANY  H. 

Captain  J.  H.  Hall;  August  27,  1862;  mustered  out  with  regiment 

at  Washington  City. 

First  Lieutenant  E.  E.  Peters;  August  27,  1862;   resigned  July  12\ 
.Kfc-1863.      W.  F.  Hodge  promoted  First  Lieutenant. 
Second  Lieutenant  D.  W.  Mervvin;  August  27,  1862. 

COMPANY  I. 

Captain  A.  L.  Fahnestock;    August   27,    1862;     promoted   Major 

January  3 1 ,  1864. 
First  Lieutenant  A.  A.  Lee;  August  27,  1862;    promoted   Captain 

Jan.  31,  1864. 
Second  Lieutenant  J.   L.   Fahnestock;    August  2:7,,  1862;    resigned 

Jan.  23,  1863.     R.  W.  Groninger  promoted  Second  Lieutenant. 

COMPANY  K, 
Captain  J.  F.  French;    August    27,    1862;    killed  March  16,  1865. 

L.  A.  Ross  promoted  Captain. 
First  Lieutenant  J.  B.   Pete;    August  27,  1862;    discharged  Dec. 

24,   1864. 
Second  Lieutenant  H.   F.   Irwin;    August  27,  1862;    dishonorably 

discharged  Nov.   29,    186-2.      John   Morrow   promoted   Second 

Lieutenant. 


CAPTAIN  BUEKHALTEE'S  ADVENTURE. 


On  the  morning  of  the  20th  of  August,  1864,  while 
our  army  was  besieging  Atlanta,  General  James  D. 
Morgan's  division  was  ordered  on  a  raid  to  cut  the 
Montgomery  and  Atlanta  Eailroad.  Our  brigade,  the 
3rd,  left  its  baggage  in  the  rifle  pits,  leaving  a  suffi 
cient  guard  with  it.  The  skirmishers  were  also  left  on 
duty  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Burkhalter,  the 
subject  of  our  narrative. 

Sometime  after  the  division  had  gone,  the  Captain 
became  lonesome  and  anxious  to  know  what  the 
division  was  doing,  so  he  attempted  to  follow  and  see 
the  fun.  He  followed  it  very  well  until  within  three  or 
four  miles  of  the  railroad,  when  a  heavy  rain  over 
took  him  ;  he  stopped  under  the  shelter  of  a  large 
tree  until  the  storm  had  somewhat  subsided,  then 
mounting  his  horse  pursued  what  he  supposed  to  be 
the  right  road,  but  the  pelting  rain  had  obliterated 
every  vestige  of  our  course,  and  he  in  consequence 
was  in  a  dilemma  as  to  what  was  best.  It  did  not 
seem  well  to  turn  back  after  having  gone  so  far,  so  he 
determined  to  follow  in  the  probable  course  of  the 
column  until  he  found  more  evidence  one  way  or  the 
other.  On  he  went  in  a  musing  mood,  doubting  as 
he  went. 

Having  now  gone  a  long  distance  without  any 
favorable  signs,  he  had  about  concluded  to  return, 
when  on  a  sudden  a  stalwart  reb,  armed  to  the  teeth, 
stepped  out  from  behind  a  tree  and  commanded  the 
unwary  Captain  to  surrender.  A  complete  surprise. 
12 


130       CAPTAIN  BURKHALTER'S  ADVENTURE. 

What  could  he  do  ;  he  had  left  his  sword  and  pistol 
in  camp,  not  dreaming  of  this  adventure. 

He  stopped  instanter,  obeying  the  summons  of  his 
captor,  for  there  was  no  other  alternative  ;  he  was 
powerless.  The  next  demand  made  of  him  was  his 
watch  and  pocket  book. 

The  rebel,  for  a  short  distance,  marched  the  Cap 
tain  a  few  paces  in  front,  following  close  in  the  rear 
with  a  cocked  gun,  and  leading  the  horse  by  the 
reins  ;  but  this  was  not  getting  along  fast  enough,  for 
the  horse  would  not  lead  good.  He  now  ordered  the 
Captain  on  horseback,  still  walking  close  behind  and 
directing  the  course  of  the  prisoner  by  proper  military 
commands. 

They  had  thus  traveled  about  two  miles  when  a 
horseman  was  heard  to  approach  on  a  keen  trot  from 
the  direction  of  their  front.  This  horseman  was  sup 
posed  to  be  a  rebel  cavalryman,  but  on  coming  closer 
he  was  discovered  to  be  a  Yankee.  The  rebel  leveled 
his  gun  on  him  and  commanded  his  surrender ;  but 
saying  nothing,  the  Yankee  threw  the  reins  loose  on 
the  horse's  neck  and  approached  to  the  rebel's  gun  as 
if  to  give  up,  but  seizing  it  thrust  it  to  one  side,  when 
off  it  went,  hurting  no  one. 

The  rebel  was  now  at  their  mercy,  if  they  could 
catch  him.  for  he  took  leg-bail.  Both  the  Yankees 
pursued  and  finally  captured  him.  The  Orderly  —  for 
the  last  character  was  the  Captain's  Orderly  —  tried 
to  shoot  the  fugitive,  but  his  pistol  would  not  go  off. 

Having  captured  the  rebel,  the  Captain  loaded  his 
gun  and  demanded  back  all  that  had  been  taken 
from  him.  The  Captain  soon  after  found  the  column, 
bringing  his  captive  with  him,  rejoicing  —  the  rebel 
fighting  mad. 


SOLDIERS'  LETTERS, 


Letters  are  the  soldier's  tonic.  They  will  strength 
en  and  restore  when  army  grub  and  other  restoratives, 
duly  proportioned,  wholly  fail.  The  blues  and  all 
kinds  of  contagious  diseases  to  which  mortals  are 
heir,  caused  by  idleness  and  the  lack  of  proper  diver 
sion  of  the  mind,  are  soon  uprooted  by  a  good  inter 
esting  letter  from  a  fellow's  most  affectionate.  Give 
soldiers  full  rations  and  regular  mail,  then  there  can 
nowhere  be  found  a  more  rational  set  of  men  than 
they.  But  letters  are  sometimes  like  our  crackers  and 
pork,  unfit  for  use.  Such  letters  do  no  good  —  they 
are  no  good.  There  is  a  sheet  full  of  writing,  to  be 
sure,  but  it  is  about  something  that  neither  interests 
nor  concerns  us.  Those  letters  that  tell  us  about  the 
little  things  of  home ;  the  farm,  the  horses,  the  cattle, 
the  dogs  and  cats,  their  quality  and  disposition ;  also 
the  parties  and  frolics,  who  is  going  to  see  who,  and 
what  people  say  about  it,  are  the  very  letters  that  do 
all  this  good  I  have  been  telling  about. 

The  soldiers  will  always  crowd  around  the  ones  who 
get  such  letters,  make  remarks  and  ludicrous  sugges 
tions  which  cause  bursts  of  hearty  laughter  and  strains 
of  highest  merriment,  thus  passing  the  tedious  hours 
of  camp  life  in  a  light  and  merry  way. 

No  one  cares  for  a  letter  which  is  wholly  devoted 
to  the  praise  and  admiration  of  one's  patriotism  and 
to  the  sacredness  of  the  Union  cause. 

Such  letters  bore  to  the  very  quick.  It  seems  to 
them  that  the  writer  is  taking  that  opportunity  to 


132  SOLDIERS'  LETTERS. 

speak  a  word  of  eulogy  for  himself.  As  for  the  true 
soldier,  he  never  asks  for  words  of  flattery  ;  he  is  not 
to  be  gulled  with  bland  words  and  braggadocio. 
The  letter  for  the  soldier  is  the  long,  pithy  one,  full  of 
little  things,  even  down  to  gossip.  Gossip  is  better  than 
eulogy,  especially  when  used  in  an  egotistical  manner. 


BATTLE. 


Much  "has  been  said  and  written  about  battle,  the 
greater  portion  of  which  is  an  exaggeration  of  facts. 
Fireside  writers  and  reporters  have  composed  long 
manuscripts,  beginning  and  ending  in  frantic  agonies 
and  seas  of  blood,  exhausting  the  vocabulary  of  pa 
thetic  epithets.  That  battle  is  dreadful  cannot  be 
denied,  but  those  who  have  passed  through  the  fiery 
ordeal  do  not  experience  half  the  convulsions  and 
agony  of  soul  that  is  written.  If  a  comrade  falls,  the 
column  still  moves  on.  No  one,  by  the  late  rules  of 
war,  dare  stop  to  bear  off  the  wounded  or  sympathize 
with  those  in  the  throes  of  death.  There  are  men 
detailed  for  that  purpose,  who  follow  up  in  the  rear 
and  give  those  in  need  due  attention. 

A  soldier  in  a  pitched  battle  does  not  pretend  to 
know  who  is  hurt  until  the  battle  is  ended  ;  he  must 
needs  push  ahead  and  do  his  part  until  he  is  no  longer 
able.  Many  of  your  comrades  fall  around  you  ;  they 
show  unmistakable  symptoms  of  severe  wounds,  but 
your  attention  is  too  much  engrossed  to  ever  think  to 
inquire  the  nature  of  their  wounds.  You  are  hardly 
conscious  of  any  suffering  around  you.  Excitement 
has  borne  you  off  so  that  you  never  think  to  look 
and  see  who  is  on  your  right  or  left,  or  whose  spirit  is 
winging  its  flight  from  the  body  over  which  you  are 
walking.  The  soldier  does  not  seem  to  feel  pangs  of 
sorrow  when  arms  clash  the  loudest ;  he  does  not  see 
danger  and  suffering  and  ghastly  sights  until  all  is 
over  and  quiet  restored.  Those  who  are  unacquainted 


134  BATTLE. 

with  the  mental  condition  of  the  soldier  in  time  of 
battle,  wonder  and  ask  why  it  is  that  those  whom  he 
knows  so  intimately  are  wounded  and  many  times 
killed  by  his  side  without  knowing  the  nature  of  their 
wounds  or  the  circumstances  of  their  death.  The 
reason  for  this  is  manifest  from  what  has  already  been 
said. 

There  is  oftentimes  more  horror  in  the  idea  and 
dread  of  battle  than  in  the  thing  itself.  The  soldier 
becomes  so  accustomed  to  human  butchery  that  it 
loses  many,  very  many,  of  its  horrors. 

After  battle,  when  the  clash  of  arms  has  ceased,  is 
when  the  soldier's  sympathy  is  tried.  The  solicitations 
of  the  maimed  and  dying  raise  a  feeling  of  commis 
eration  in  the  most  obdurate  heart ;  and  still  this  feel 
ing  is  of  but  short  duration  and  of  a  mild  character. 


FARMING  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


Farming  in  the  Southern  States  is  carried  on  in  a 
very  simple  and  seeming  ignorant  style.  One  could 
not  refrain  from  laughing  at  their  oddity  in  agricultu 
ral  pursuits.  They  are  a  great  many  years  behind  the 
North  in  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  many  others. 

The  whites  and  negroes  are  so  sluggish,  indolent 
and  careless  in  their  habits  that  their  works  are  a  fair 
prototype  of  themselves.  There  is  a  difference  be 
tween  a  farm  and  a  plantation,  though  they  are  carried 
on  in  nearly  the  same  style ;  the  main  difference  is  that 
the  one  is  gotten  up  on  a  larger  scale  than  the  other. 
What  is  usually  called  a  farm  is  owned  by  a  poor 
white  man  —  while  the  plantation  is  owned  by  a 
wealthy  planter,  with  his  hundreds  of  negroes.  The 
farm  is  known  by  its  small  area,  by  its  improvements 
and  its  little  old  log  house  with  its  appendages ;  the 
plantation,  by  its  vast  area,  its  stately  mansion  and 
numerous  negro  shanties.  The  improvements  are 
usually  very  poor,  with  but  few  conveniences.  On 
every  plantation  you  will  see  a  cotton  press  and  gin 
house,  with  the  stable  under  the  latter.  The  cotton 
press  is  the  first  thing  you  get  your  eyes  on  when  you 
approach  a  plantation,  and  then  the  gin  house  next. 
And  as  for  the  farms  or  little  plantations,  you  scarcely 
know  anything  about  them  until  you  have  them  sud 
denly  spread  before  your  view.  There  is  hardly  ever 
anything  external  to  warn  one  of  their  presence. 

It  is,  as  it  were,  a  swath  mown  in  the  deep  pine 
forest  —  the  labor  of  a  poor  ignorant  being,  who,  like 


136  FARMING   IN   THE   SOUTH. 

the  parrot,  can  talk  and  palaver  with  simple  unmean- 
ingness,  but  ignorant  of  the  world  beyond  a  radius  of 
ten  miles.  The  people,  for  the  most  part,  break  up 
their  ground  with  one  horse  or  ox,  as  the  case  may 
be,  their  plows  being  suited  to  the  purpose. 

This  small  plow  is  made  after  the  fashion  of  our 
large  two-horse  breaking  plows,  and  is,  as  we  are  wont 
to  say,  right  or  left  handed.  Some  farmers  are  too 
poor  to  afford  a  horse  or  mule ;  in  this  case  they  work 
an  ox  as  if  he  were  a  horse,  hitch  him  to  the  plow 
and  drive  him  with  ropes  attached  to  his  horns  with  as 
much  precision  as  a  horse  or  mule. 

The  oxen  here  may  be  of  a  more  docile  breed  than 
found  in  our  parts,  and  certainly  are,  for  it  would  be 
dangerous  with  us  to  hitch  one  to  a  plow  and  start 
him  on  a  row  through  a  cornfield,  for  he  would  likely 
jump  the  fence  before  he  reached  the  other  end. 

The  rows  of  corn  here  are  usually  six  feet  apart, 
with  a  row  of  negro  beans  between.  If  one  man  can 
tend  eight  acres  he  thinks  he  is  doing  good  business ; 
the  corn  is  hardly  ever  plowed,  it  being  worked  with 
the  hoe  for  the  most  part. 

The  women  work  in  the  field  as  well  as  the  men, 
they  being  used  to  it.  They  will  not  believe  us  when 
we  tell  them  that  our  women  do  not  work  in  the  field. 
When  an  acre  of  ground  yields  twelve  bushels  of 
corn  it  is  thought  to  be  a  fine  crop.  They  gape  with 
wonder  when  we  tell  them  we  break  our  ground  with 
two  horses,  plow  our  corn  with  a  plow  on  which  we 
can  ride;  that  one  man  can  tend  forty  acres  and  raise 
forty  bushels  to  the  acre.  When  we  tell  them  about 
our  reapers,  our  vast  fields  of  wheat,  oats,  etc.,  etc., 
they  gape,  and  wonder  what  we  do  with  it  all.  If  we 
tell  them  about  our  large  prairies,  rich  soil  and  pro 
ductive  land,  they  wonder  why  thev  had  not  heard  of 
that  before. 


FARMING   IN   THE   SOUTH.  137 

Their  principal  diet  is  corn  bread,  meat  and  negro 
beans.  These  nigger  beans,  by  the  way,  are  not"so 
bad,  just  the  thing  for  the  soldier;  many  farmers 
raise  them  altogether,  so  to  speak.  It  is  a  common 
thing  to  see  cribs  of  these  beans  as  you  pass  through 
the  country;  it  takes  them  so  short  a  time  to  cook, 
which  adapts  them  to  our  use.  Corn  and  beans  are 
not  their  only  productions,  for  they  sometimes  grow  a 
little  wheat,  oats,  tobacco  and  cotton.  Many  reap 
their  grain  with  the  sickle,  not  having  known  the 
existence  of  the  cradle.  There  are  no  reapers  to  be 
seen,  or  if  at  all,  but  seldom. 

As  a  people,  they  have  no  enterprise;  they  live 
only  to  eat,  and  even  that  is  done  in  a  poor,  unhandy 
style. 

There  are  a  great  many  turpentine,  rosin  and  tar 
factories  in  "  the  sunny  land  of  Dixie. "  There  are  vast 
tracts  of  land  here,  covered  with  dense  forests  of  pine, 
that  can  be  put  to  no  other  use  than  the  production 
of  these  things.  In  North  Carolina  these  factories  are 
most  numerous.  They  are  built  on  small  streams  of 
water,  and  for  miles  around  the  trees  are  hewn  on  two 
sides ;  the  turpentine  running  out,  gums  on  the  tree 
where  it  is  hewn.  On  our  march  we  burned  many 
of  these  factories;  they  made  a  grand,  huge  smoke, 
most  sublime. 

It  is  impossible  for  a  person  who  has  not  seen  the 
like  ^  to  form  a  proper  idea  of  the  real  grandeur  and 
sublimity  of  these  dense  volumes  of  black,  agitated 
smoke,  brightened  betimes  with  lofty  flames  of  liquid 
fire  that  seem  to  lift  themselves  in'  the  fury  of  their 
madness  to.  the  very  skies. 


REBEL   LETTER. 


This  letter,  written  by  a  rebel  soldier,  was  found  on 
the  battle-ground  at  Bentonville,  N.  C. 

BIVOUAC  NEAR  "RACCOON-  FORD,"  VA.,    [ 
September  25th,    1863.  j 

DEAK  COON — I  have  just  received  your  kind 
favor  of  the  8th  inst,  and  am  very  much  gratified 
with  its  contents.  I  could  not  expect  a  long  letter 
.from  a  soldier  u  in  the  field,"  and  I  suppose  your 
time  was  fully  taken  up  reorganizing  your  company 
and  regiment. 

Since  last  writing  you  we  had  some  little  excite 
ment  ourselves.  The  Yankee,  Meade,  has  tried  to 
take  advantage  of  our  supposed  decimated  army,  and 
has  advanced  across  the  Rappahannock  river  to  the 
banks  of  the  Rapidan.  We  have  here  checked  his 
advance  and  are  awaiting  the  attack  which  he  is  very 
slow  about  making.  I  think  both  sides  are  awaiting 
the  decision  of  the  battle  in  Tennessee  and  Georgia 
before  a  move  is  made. 

We  are  daily  in  receipt  of  glorious  news  from 
Bragg,  but  there  are  so  many  rumors  without  founda 
tion  that  we  hardly  know  what  he  has  clone.  I  hope 
he  will  not  rest  until  he  has  driven  the  foe  across  the 
Ohio.  You  have  our  brag  fighting  general  with  you 
now,  and  I  know  you  will  be  victorious. 

I  have  not  heard  a  word  from  "  Miss  Mattie  "  since 
I  left  home,  and  if  the  truth  must  be  told,  I  never 
want  to  again.  I  have  found  a  new  sweetheart,  and  I 
think  the  change  is  more  agreeable,  at  least  to  me.  I 


REBEL   LETTER.  1S9 

suppose  you  know  that  Miss  Katie  Furlow's  father  is 
running 'for  Governor;  of  course  you  will  support 
him. 

You  recollect  that  pretty  little  woman  that  I  showed 
you  in  the  theatre  in  Augusta,  the  one  I  said  was  the 
belle  of  Augusta — Miss  Fannie  Hatch.  Well,  I  have 
been  told  by  one  who  knows  and  believes,  that  ''Al 
bert,"  who  performed  with  the  "Queen  Sisters"  that 
night,  has 'betrayed  her.  I  can  scarcely  believe  that 
so  much  loveliness  would  have  fallen  so  easily,  yet 
they  say  'tis  true. 

I  shall  anxiously  wait  to  hear  farther  from  you  in 
reference  to  the  lieutenancy.  If  you  are  successful  in 
securing  it  for  me  (which  ^1  hope  and  pray  you  may 
be,)  I  shall  be  ever  grateful  to  you. 

I  have  not  seen  Joe  Holt  since  the  reception  of 
yours,  his  regiment  being  on  picket  guard.  I  know 
he  would  send  you  his  kind  regards,  if  he  knew  I 
was  writing  to  you.  Accept  my  best  wishes,  and  be 
lieve  me  to  be 

Truly  your  Friend, 

A.  KENT  BISEL. 

P.  S.— Please  direct  to  Co.  "K,"  4th  Georgia, 
Dole's  Brigade,  Ehodes'  Division,  Ewell's  Corps, 
A.  1ST.  V.,  and  always  to  Richmond,  Virginia. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


Jl/Wj  Q  '54  K 

}  LD 

JUNQ    '64-1  P!\ 

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